* * * ( out of 4 ) the thing about adam sandler is , his heart is in the right place . for example , in happy gilmore , sandler plays a rookie golfer trying to beat a self-confident jerk of a pro . if the star were any other comic , that would be enough motivation to drive the movie , but with sandler , the rookie also wants to win the prize money to help his grandma keep her house . that extra motive doesn't make happy gilmore a funnier movie . it doesn't really add any genuine emotional depth , either . in fact , the motive is almost totally irrelevant to the movie . but sandler's philosophy seems to be , if it's a token gesture , why not make it a nice gesture ? that is endlessly refreshing . in the wedding singer , sandler is right on track . the fact that he's a wedding singer is only superficially relevant to the story . what kind of a wedding singer he is is even less important . david spade could have filled the role with cynicism and sarcasm . he could make fun of the fat , ugly , or embarrassing people he meets at weddings , and the story would be intact . but sandler instead brings a mature goodness to the character . he seems to really enjoy the people at weddings and treats them as though they were his own family . robbie hart ( sandler ) doesn't just sing at weddings ; he also gets the loners to join in and have fun , and he smooths it over when someone does something embarrassing . he is exactly the man you would want at your wedding . the day comes when robbie has his own wedding , and he is stood up by his heavy-metal bride ( the movie is set in 1985 ) . robbie takes it hard . he doesn't sleep , he doesn't eat , and he gets punched out at work when he sings " love stinks " at a wedding . julia ( drew barrymore ) , who waitresses all the weddings in town , gives him a shoulder to cry on and an ear to talk to . eventually , robbie starts rebounding toward julia . he really likes her , but she's engaged . her fiancé is a self-confident jerk ( do i see a trend - nope , just a formula ) who doesn't deserve her , but robbie is too depressed to fight for her hand . julia seems to like robbie too , but she can't leave her seemingly safe and stable fiancé for the off-chance that robbie might be serious about her . you know the story . you've seen it a million times before . there's always a new way to tell it , with new lovers , new chemistry , and new details , but it's the same story . and sometimes , it works . 
