Movie Review: Sweet Home Alabama

For those maybe not as familiar with movies no this is not about the famous Lynyrd Skynyrd song. Sweet Home Alabama, released in 2002, has often been listed among the best romantic comedies of the 2000’s and officially cemented Reese Witherspoon as one of the queens of the genre. As always spoilers will be ahead. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Melanie Carmichael (Witherspoon with Dakota Fanning as the child version) is a fashion designer living in New York City and dating Andrew Hennings (Patrick Dempsey) the son of the New York City mayor Kate Hennings (Candice Bergen). After becoming engaged (in one of the most epic proposals in film) to Andrew Melanie decides to head back home to Alabama to tell her parents Pearl and Earl (Mary Kay Place and Fred Ward), but she is hiding a few big secrets. In order to get away from her poor, and youth trouble, Southern roots Melanie changed her last name from Smoots to Carmichael, her parents are not as classy as she claimed (her father does Civil War re-enactments) and is still married to her childhood sweetheart Jake Perry (Josh Lucas with Thomas Curtis as the child version). Despite Melanie sending divorce papers numerous times Jake refuses to sign them. Melanie uses everything in her power as his wife to get him to sign, such as emptying their joint account to sprucing up his home. However the longer she is at home the more Melanie realizes she shouldn’t be ashamed of who she was/is, and how much in love she still is with Jake. Unfortunately for Melanie Kate, doubting how good she is for Andrew (she is just a tad controlling), sends her assistant Barry (Kevin Sussman) to Alabama to investigate her son’s fiancé. About as far as I should go without giving away the rest of the movie.

Witherspoon as always shines in whatever movie she is in, and this is no exception. Whether she is coming off as New York businesswoman one minute then Southern troublemaker the next Witherspoon’s acting ability was top notch. Lucas was fantastic as Jake, the only guy who sees Melanie for who she truly is, and will do anything to show her that. Dempsey is good as Andrew, standing up to his mother and accepts Melanie for who she is (or so he thinks she is). The rest of the cast is enjoyable and has some very funny moments, although I admit the baby in the bar scene does have me questioning a few things. The films culture clash between New York and Alabama was so perfectly written, although it may have been a little stereotyping. I am not from the South nor have I traveled there so I have yet to experience if it is as different as this film perceives it; I’d like to judge it for myself by actually going one day and not how they are portrayed in film and television. Sweet Home Alabama is still a very cute romantic comedy and while I won’t say it is a must watch it is absolutely a girls night or date night film.

Movie Review: Runaway Bride

A women’s wedding day is usually described as the best day of her life, unless she is far from ready in the case of this movie. Released in 1999 and directed by Gary Marshall, Runaway Bride took the saying and turned into a pretty funny romantic comedy. It also reunited Julia Roberts and Richard Gere from the movie Pretty Woman, and their chemistry still stood. As always spoilers will be ahead. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Maggie Carpenter (Roberts) has received the tabloid nickname “The Runaway Bride” after she has left three heartbroken men on their wedding day while being captured on film. New York columnist Homer Eisenhower Graham, aka Ike (Gere) writes an extensive article about Maggie thanks to meeting one of her jilted fiancés. However the article is deemed factually wrong and, after refusing to site his source, Ike is fired. Maggie rightly so is infuriated by the article. Trying to restore his career and reputation Ike travels to Hale, Maryland (yes a fictional town before you start Googling) where Maggie will attempt to marry for the fourth time. Her fiancé is Bob Kelly (Christopher Meloni), the high school football coach who often uses sports analogy to try and calm Maggie. Ike tries to get Maggie’s story from her family and friends, including her best friend Peggy (Joan Cusack), but Maggie freaks out; especially when he calls her out on changing herself to appease her fiancés. Ike and Maggie begin to tell her story, and also begin a very close bond which terrifies both of them. About as far as I should go without spoiling the rest of the movie.

I would describe this film as a very cute romantic comedy, perfect for a night on the couch with a loved one or a girl’s night. Roberts and Gere are two of the finest actors in Hollywood showing how far the two have come since their Pretty Woman days. While I think their chemistry in here is good I believe Pretty Woman is still their better work. Their characters are very interesting as they develop over the course of the movie: Maggie is a woman who changes everything about herself to appease a man she loves, but then runs off because of it while Ike is a kinda bitter man at the beginning before he finds himself falling for Maggie. Runaway Bride may not be a must see film, but if you are in the mood for cute, funny and/or Gere and Roberts together I think it will be a good watch.

Movie Review: Just Like Heaven

Sometimes it takes a film that may not be as well-known today to become a fan of some of the biggest names in Hollywood. While this is not the best work of Reese Witherspoon or Mark Ruffalo, this 2005 rom com introduced me to them and I have been a huge fan of both ever since. Spoilers ahead as always. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

If you looked up workaholic in the dictionary you might find a picture of Elizabeth Masterson (Witherspoon), an emergency physician who is always working for a promotion. Her sister Abby (Dina Waters) sets Elizabeth up on a blind date and she is on her way there when she gets into an accident. Three months later David Abbott (Ruffalo) a widowed, alcoholic landscape architect rents out Elizabeth’s apartment. Sometime later Elizabeth’s spirit appears, freaking both her and David out as she doesn’t believe she is dead, nor does she remember anything about her life. As David is the only one who can see and hear Elizabeth they both set out to find out what happened to her and why only David can see her; to hilarious results as people think David is crazy for talking to himself including his best friend Jack (Donal Logue) and one of his neighbors Katrina (Ivana Milicevic) who is trying to sleep with him. The only person who seems to believe them is a weird psychic bookkeeper Darryl (Jon Heder). Along the way David and Elizabeth fall in love and when they realize what happened to her Davis is determined to bring her back to him.

I have seen better written romantic comedies, but Just Like Heaven is still pretty cute. Reese is very funny as well as sweet in this movie. Mark Ruffalo is fantastic as a man who has been through so much; it almost feels like his character gets an awaking when he realizes how much he cares for Elizabeth. Heder was pretty good as well; the film also debunked a myth that he was dead. I also enjoyed Logue in this movie as the sarcastic and hilarious Jack. As I stated earlier while I have seen both actors in better movies this is the film that made me a fan of Witherspoon and Ruffalo; both have great chemistry in here and I kinda wish they would do more movies together. We’ll have to wait and see on if it happens again. Just Like Heaven is a good girls night or romantic movie night, but this is not a film I would put high on a must watch list. If you find it on TV or rent it on Netflix by all means watch, it will definitely leave you with a feeling of life is to short so do what you want, say what you want to say and fall in love.

Movie Review: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

Ever wonder what A Christmas Carol may be like if it wasn’t taking place at Christmas? Well probably not but here is one answer. Released in 2009 this romantic comedy takes the Charles Dickens tale and not only modernizes it, but twists it into a non-Christmas story. I know the critics were not a fan, but it still did not stop this movie from making a lot of money. Spoiler alert as always. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Photographer Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey, with Devin Brochu and Logan Miller as the younger versions) not only takes great pictures, but is a notorious womanizer; let me put it this way while hooking up with the woman he was doing a magazine spread for he dumped three other woman via Skype at the same time. He travels up to his childhood home to attend the wedding of his brother Paul (Breckin Meyer) to longtime girlfriend Sandra (Lacey Chabert), despite not really believing in love. Connor as well reunites with childhood friend Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner with Kasey Russell and Christa B. Allen as the younger versions), the only woman to ever capture his heart (and clearly still has strong feelings for). Connor makes a drunken speech about love being a myth (and worrying an already freaking out Sandra) and when he goes to the bathroom runs into the ghost of the man who taught him his womanizing ways: his uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas). Telling Connor he is going to die just like him (alone) Wayne tells Connor he will be visited by three ghosts tonight in order to change his ways. Connor at first dismisses it, until he meets the first ghost: the Ghosts of Girlfriends past in the form of Allison Vandermeersh (Emma Stone) who happens to be the first woman Connor slept with in high school who takes him back through his past relationships (which took a LONG time) including him falling for Jenny and then leaving her out of fear of breaking his heart. The Ghosts of Girlfriends Present takes form in Connor’s assistant, and the only constant female figure in his life, Melanie (Noureen DeWulf) showing what people actually think of Connor, including Jenny who is clearly still in love with him but might move on in another man Brad (Daniel Sunjata) much to Connor’s chagrin. When Connor might have screwed up things for his brother he meets the Ghost of Girlfriends Future (Olga Maliouk) which shows a future where Jenny is marring Brad and Connor becomes upset. I know I probably gave a lot away, but considering the material probably not hard to figure out.

A really nice movie perfect for wither a girls night or in need of a little romance. Matthew McConaughey is fantastic as Connor, a womanizer but actually has a heart underneath everything. Jennifer Garner is so good as Jenny, the only woman Connor seems to have loved. Their chemistry is off the charts adorable, I kinda wish these two did more movies together. I liked the rest of the cast, but I have to give a special shout out to Michael Douglas as Uncle Wayne; he was so good. While I would not call Ghost of Girlfriends Past a must see, it is still a very cute movie and if you can find it on TV I would at least DVR it for a later time. Hey you can even watch it on Christmas just to stay true to the original material.

Movie Review: Breakfast at Tiffany’s

One of the most classic films of the 1960’s, and still stands the test of time today. Released in 1961 and based on Truman Capote’s novel, while the film is not perfect, and does have some controversy to it, Breakfast at Tiffany’s will probably go down as the most iconic role for Audrey Hepburn. Spoilers ahead as always. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn nominated for an Oscar for this part) is a bit of a socialite in New York; going on dates, having parties and wearing the most elegant clothes including a little black dress in the opening shot where the audience sees her eating a bun and drinking coffee looking into the windows at Tiffany’s. She tries to make a habit of not letting anyone get close to her, not even her cat whom she just calls cat. One day after evading a man she met on a bad date she meets her neighbor Paul Varjak (George Peppard) a writer. The two develop a bond over time (Holly even calls him Fred due the resemblance of her brother in the army) as Holly observes his relationship with one of their neighbors he calls 2E, Mrs. Emily Eustace Failenson (Patricia Neal) and Paul sees Holly’s relationship with men over money, as well as her agent O.J. Berman (Martin Balsam). However it is obvious Holly and Paul’s bond has become more than friendship. About as far as I can go without giving away the rest of the movie.

As I said before the film is not without controversy. Holly and Paul’s landlord is Mr. Yunioshi, who is supposed to be Japanese, but was played by Mickey Rooney with a prosthetic mouth piece and make-up. Back then and now this was a bad move and Rooney as well as producer Richard Shepherd have apologized repeatedly for it saying if they could have changed it they would, but director Blake Edward wanted to keep Rooney. Still a very bad decision.

Other than that I still enjoyed the movie. Hepburn was already a huge star prior to this film but I think Breakfast at Tiffany’s will forever go down as her best and most iconic role, I know Capote wanted Marilyn Monroe for the part based on how Holly was described in the book and felt double crossed when Monroe turned the part down and Hepburn was cast, but I wonder what he thought of the results later. Hepburn and Peppard have great chemistry together and seeing them fall in love is very adorable. There are two things from the movie about Hepburn that stand out besides her performance; of course I am talking about her style and her song. The costumes in this movie are some of the finest I’ve seen; nearly every woman I know has that little black dress in their closet inspired in a way by Hepburn’s dress in the beginning. My final point is Hepburn’s song, and the song that won the Oscar for Best Original Song as well as the Grammy, “Moon River”. Hepburn performs the singing herself and when an executive wanted the song cut from the film she said, among other words “Over my dead body!” Thankfully the song was kept in and it became a humongous hit. There have been many covers of the song including Barbara Streisand, Aretha Franklin and Melissa Benoist on the Flash/Supergirl cross-over among many other great covers. I know there was a short lived Broadway musical as well as play, but neither lasted very long or was critically successful. If you have not watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s I would highly recommend watching this movie as soon as humanly possible.

Movie Review: Grease

To call this one of the most successful musicals of all time would be a HUGE understatement. Released in 1978, Grease was a big Broadway musical for many years before it hit the big screen. After countless revivals, high school productions, a live TV special and so much more Grease prove after 40 years it is still the word. Spoilers ahead as usual. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

In 1958 Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and Sandy Olson (Olivia Newton-John) have had the ultimate sweet summer romance and both are sad when it ends, believing Sandy is going back to Australia. Fast forward to the first day of school at Rydell High Danny reunites with his friends, a greaser group called the T-Birds: Doody (Barry Pearl) the eccentric one, Sonny (Michael Tucci) the trouble maker and wannabe womanizer, “Putzie” (Kelly Ward) the one who doesn’t really know about girls and Kenickie (Jeff Conway) Danny’s best friend. Danny, after they beg him about it, tells them about the girl he “hooked up” with in the summer with some very juicy details. Meanwhile Sandy, whose parents decided to stay, transfers to Rydell and soon becomes friends with the girl group at the school, The Pink Ladies. The group consists of “Frenchy” (Didi Cohen) an aspiring beautician and the first one to be nice to Sandy, Marty (Dinah Manoff) who has many “boyfriends” and constantly draws attention, Jan (Jamie Donnelly) the very quirky member and finally Rizzo (Stockard Channing) who doesn’t like Sandy’s good girl persona. Sandy’s story about her summer romance is full of pureness and love. When Rizzo finds out it was Danny (who she has a history with) Sandy fell in love with, she makes sure they meet as soon as possible, and Danny is forced to act like a jerk to Sandy in front of his friends. Danny and Sandy must decide whether they are meant to be with Danny’s bad boy attitude and Sandy’s good girl ideals. Meanwhile other romances begin within the group: Rizzo and Kenickie have a very rocky relationship (both not willing to admit their relationship is more than just physical), Sonny tries to woo Marty, who is most definitely not interested, Putzie and Jan begin to bond as do Sonny and Frenchy. Outside of the love stories the T-Birds have to suit up Kenickie’s car “Greased Lightning” for a big race at Thunder road against their rivals the Scorpions.

If you have yet to experience Grease then you do not know what you are missing. Sandy and Danny’s love story is one of the most romantic brought on screen as well as stage. Both are willing to change who they are to be with the other, while not completely giving in to the society around them. They know who they are and even if they change a little along the way it is their choice. I know many say Sandy completely changed who she was at the end, but if you listen to the lyrics in the song she also demands Danny change as well. The other love stories are also cute to watch, it almost makes me wonder if these relationship did work out in the end (the nostalgia part of me hopes so but the realistic part of me says probably not). The story, characters and writing are some of the finest on screen; although you can clearly tell these actors are nowhere close to being in or fresh out of high school. John Travolta is amazing as Danny, his singing is way better than I give him credit for. Olivia Newton-John is so perfect as Sandy and her voice is angelic. While Stockard Channing was most definitely not close enough to be a high school student, her performance as Rizzo is solid, as is her singing. Jeff Conway is incredible as Kenickie, and is a very fine dancer. The rest of the T-Birds and Pink Ladies are amazing as well, not to mention the teachers and fellow students at Rydell. Of course I can’t forget about Frankie Avalon as the Teen Angel Frenchy needed.

The soundtrack of Grease is among the best not just on screen but on stage. Several songs from the musical made its way to the movie, but there were some written just for the movie; regardless most of the songs have gone down as some fantastic and fabulous numbers. The opening number “Grease” is the animated opening sequence introducing many of the characters and the crew. “Summer Nights” is sung by Danny and Sandy about their summer love, but both are telling completely different stories. “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” is Rizzo’s song making fun of Sandy’s good girl attitude which makes Rizzo annoyed at her. “Hopelessly Devoted To You” is Sandy’s song as she laments over finding out who Danny is among his friends and if she should still care (this song was nominated for an Oscar). “Greased Lightning” is the big dance number with the T-Birds (can we get a round of applause for the choreography in this number?) “Sandy” is Danny lamenting about how miserable he is without Sandy. “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” is Rizzo’s song about how what she does could be worse, while also lamenting on what she feels for Kenickie. “You’re The One That I Want” is sung by Danny and Sandy as both declare their love for each other and how they have made each other for the better. The final number “We Go Together” is the T-Birds and Pink Ladies vowing to remain friends or more once they graduate high school.

This is one amazing musical that I strongly believe will last for very long time; it is one of my personal favorite films of all time. There was a sequel for Grease, but it doesn’t star most of the original cast and from what I’ve heard it is a do not watch. A LIVE TV special was aired a few years ago, but that might be a story for another day. As stated previously if you have not seen Grease mark it down as a must watch immediately.

Movie Review: 10 Things I Hate About You

If there was one movie I wished I watched when I was actually in high school it is this one. Released in 1999, this movie is actually based on the Shakespeare play The Taming of the Shrew, only set in modern high school times. Even if you are not in high school this movie is still pretty awesome to watch. Spoiler alert as always. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

The Stratford sisters could not be any more different. Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is popular, self-absorbed and ready to date, while her older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) is anti-social, shrewish and doesn’t really care what people think of her. Their overprotective obstetrician father Walter (Larry Miller) only has one rule: Bianca may date only if Kat is. This infuriates Bianca who has her eyes set on popular student and senior Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan) a model, very self-absorbed and only wants to sleep with Bianca. Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) a new student at Pauda High School falls for Bianca as soon as he sees her, much to the objections of his new friend Michael Eckman (David Krumholtz) and after Bianca tells him of her father’s rule asks him to find someone for Kat to date (he doesn’t know Bianca has sights on Joey). Cameron and Michael find the perfect person: bad boy Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) a guy who has many stories about him (whether or not they are true irrelevant). Unable to approach Patrick immediately, Cameron and Michael reluctantly approach Joey asking him to pay Patrick to go out with Kat under the pretense of getting Bianca. Patrick does agree, but Kat rebuffs him at first. When Cameron and Michael give him some information Kat’s shield slowly start to go down. Along the way Patrick starts to fall for Kat as well, Bianca must decide whether Cameron or Joey is right for her and Michael tries to woo Kat’s friend and Shakespeare lover Mandella (Susan May Pratt). Also featured in this film is Bianca’s selfish friend Chasity (Gabrielle Union), Mr. Morgan (Daryl “Chill” Mitchell before his motorcycle accident) an English teacher who does not put up with a lot from his students, and Ms. Perky (Allison Janney) a guidance counselor who enjoys writing let’s call it very adult novels in her spare time.

I love this movie so much, and thankfully when it came out I was not the only one. This proved to be break-out roles for many of its stars, including Ledger, Stiles and Gordon-Levitt. Julia Stiles has become an actress I admired for a long time and this for me is one of her best roles, there are times in this move when I really identify with Kat. Larisa Oleynik is pretty good as Bianca as she slowly grows out of become a selfish person and realizes who actually cares for her. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is an incredible actor and his role as Cameron is perfect. Larry Miller is hilarious as the over-protective dad, David Krumholtz is very funny as Michael, Andrew Keegan is such a horrible person as Joey (which is a good thing), Janney and Mitchell are fantastic as the teachers; however the break-out star for me is Heath Ledger as Patrick Verona, the bad boy all the good girls want to tame (let’s not forget his performance of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You, one of the most talked about moments in the movie even if you haven’t watched it). Everyone is amazing in this movie; the writing is incredible and has some pretty memorable scenes. A television series was released in 2009 but did not last too long (almost a shame). I would highly recommend 10 Things I Hate About You as a must watch as soon as possible. I hope you guys enjoy it if you have yet to watch it.

Movie Review: Mamma Mia

If there was such a thing as a guilty pleasure musical, this one has to be at the top of the list. Mamma Mia is a fantastic Broadway musical, telling a story with songs from the legendary group ABBA and in 2008 finally came to the big screen, just maybe not in the way fans of the show expected. As always spoiler alert is on. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

20 year old Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) is getting married on the beautiful Greek island of Kalokairi where her mother Donna (Meryl Streep) owns a villa and doesn’t understand why Sophie is marrying so young. Behind her mother’s back, and inadvertently her fiancé’s Sky (Dominic Cooper), Sophie sends invitations to three men: architect Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan), travel writer and sailor Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgård) and banker Harry Bright (Colin Firth). After reading her mother’s diary the year she was pregnant, Sophie confide with her friends Ali and Lisa (Ashley Lilley and Rachel McDowall) that she believes one of those three men might be her father and she wants whomever it is to walk her down the aisle. When they arrive Sophie asks them to not tell Donna why they are here or who invited them, saying it is a surprise for her mom, and the guys agree. Donna sees they are there and becomes distraught; confiding in her close friends and former band mates, author Rosie (Julie Walters) and three time divorcee Tanya (Christine Baranski) that she doesn’t know why the men are here nor who is actually Sophie’s father. Soon chaos ensues when all three guys believe they are Sophie’s father and promise to walk her down the aisle, much to her horror. Meanwhile Donna realizes she still has strong feelings for one of the men, Rosie falls for another one of the men while Tanya avoids Pepper (Phillip Michael) one of Sky’s friends who falls hard for her. About as far as I can go without giving away the rest of the movie, but keep an eye out for members of ABBA.

Now I am going to be honest; while the film is not bad, it is not exactly great. Many of the actors in this movie are not trained singers and it shows. Brosnan, Skarsgard and Firth are good actors, but their singing is not good, in Brosnan’s case terrible (sorry but it’s my opinion). Cooper, Walters and Baranski were not fantastic, but they were a lot better than I gave credit for. Seyfried and Streep on the other hand were actually pretty good, not just in acting but in their singing. The film follows the musical very well, not exactly how I remember the show but I knew it wasn’t gonna be word for word. A sequel will be released later this year called Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, I really hope this is gonna be good. I would recommend Mamma Mia for a musical fan, but I wouldn’t put it too high on a watch list.

Movie Review: Mean Girls

One of the first PG-13 movies I watched in theaters, I went with some of my girlfriends and my dad (who was “thrilled” to take us). However I do not think anyone was prepared for just how big this 2004 movie was going to become, something tells me this will be just as big when I am very old. In case you haven’t seen it, spoiler alert. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) moves from Africa to the United States, specifically Evanston, Illinois. Cady attends high school for the first time and soon learns about cliques from two outcasts, Janis Ian (Lizzy Caplan) who is Goth and Damian Leigh (Daniel Franzese) who is gay. They tell Cady about to avoid the most popular group at school” The Plastics, a trio of girls who are as popular as they are mean. Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried) the sweet but stupid member, Gretchen Wieners (Lacey Chabert) the spoiled member who just wants acceptance, and finally the leader and what Janis calls evil human form, Regina George (Rachel McAdams). The Plastics invite Cady into their clique which makes Cady popular, although they discourage her from joining the math team despite her exceptional skills according to her teacher Ms. Norby (Tina Fey who also wrote the screenplay). Janis wants to use Cady to gain revenge on Regina for their horrible past, but Cady refuses to go along with the plan at first. Cady falls madly in love with fellow classmate Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett) who happens to be Regina’s ex-boyfriend. When Regina, knowing that Cady is interested, steals Aaron back Cady goes all in on Janis’s plan to destroy Regina by having Cady take over The Plastics, but inadvertently along the way Cady turns out to be much worse than Regina. About as far as I can go without giving away the rest of the movie.

To say that this movie has become a pop culture phenomenon would be an understatement. Everything from the writing to the acting could not have been done better. While Lindsay Lohan was already well known before this movie Mean Girls helped break her out of the Disney mold. McAdams and Seyfried’s careers as well have gone sky high because of this movie. Tina Fey has had success before and after this movie, but this for me is her best film work, not just as an actress but as a writer (notice the key word being film she is still fantastic in television) Other actors such as Bennett, Franzese, Chabert and Caplan haven’t had as much success after Mean Girls, but they have said they are thankful for the movie. The film had a spin off called Mean Girls 2, but it is not really worth watching having only one member from the original film and basically is a poor copy. There is a stage musical coming soon to Broadway with Tina Fey doing the script, so you know it is gonna be good. There have been talks about the official sequel, but until I see an actual trailer I do not believe it. Mean Girls continues to have a huge impact in film and I do not see it going away anytime soon.

Movie Review: The Wedding Singer

A classic romantic comedy and without question one of the best films in both Adam Sandler’s and Drew Barrymore’s careers. I would not go so far as to say classic but it is definitely a great pick for a girl’s night or romantic evening on the couch. If you haven’t seen this 1998 film spoiler alert as always. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Taking place in the 1980’s Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler) is a nice, charming wedding singer from Ridgefield New Jersey who always tries to make sure the guests have a great time at the reception. At one of the wedding he is singing at he meets Julia Sullivan (Drew Barrymore), a waitress. Both of them are engaged to longtime partners; Robbie to a woman named Linda (Angela Featherstone) and Julie to businessman Glenn Gulia (Matthew Glave). The next day Robbie is supposed to get married to Linda, but she is not there. Linda later arrives that day saying she fell out of love with Robbie when he was OK with being a wedding singer and not a rock star. Robbie becomes depressed and it soon affects him at work. Julia tries to help Robbie in his time of need by asking him to help plan her own wedding. After some time Robbie comes to realize a few things: Linda was very shallow and Glenn is a jerk to Julia frequently cheating on her and with no plans to stop after the marriage. However the most important thing Robbie and Julia realize: they have fallen for each other. I probably shouldn’t go into too much more for those who haven’t seen the movie, but I will say the ending is downright adorable and keep an eye out for Billy Idol.

As far as romantic comedies go this is one of the most frequently listed as one of the best (not high but at least top 10). This was the first of I believe three films with Sandler and Barrymore did and I think it’s their best. Their chemistry is off the charts and I think it’s great how they are good friends in real life. The writing is fantastic as well, my opinion one of the best written romantic comedies I’ve seen. The movie was adapted into a Broadway musical in 2006 and ran for a few months; this was actually the musical my high school did in my senior year and maybe I’m biased but I thought they did great. However as far as the movie goes I highly recommend The Wedding Singer for any night of the week, not just romantic or girls night.