While picking flaws in films is a favourite past time of many film junkies and some times it can get very tedious, few invite criticism like the Wedding Singer. It was deliberately marketed as being a film about living in 1985 and promoting itself as accurate reflection of living in that period. From The Wedding Singer promotional material:
“Before the Internet,Before mobile phones, before roller blades There was a time…1985
Don’t pretend that you don’t remember”
Which is the whole point: eighty-eightynine does remember!
The flaws in the Wedding singer are no different to that of a film that promotes itself to show what it’s like living in New York, and then goes on to show the Sydney Opera House or the Big Ben as New York landmarks. Also see part 2 of this series which deals with other plot faults. One positive aspect is that the Wedding Singer did allow the wider release of Eighties music that would have otherwise been impossible to get without buying a swag of compilation albums. The two albums released are a great way to start a collection of Eighties songs, but as the following table shows, it has very little to do with the year 85. Some songs were released as far back as 79. Put it another way – would the culture of 85 fit next to the grunge period of 1990-91. Can you imagine Nirvana seriously singing Smells Like Teen Spirit while wearing a blue suit or popping on a frock like Dead or Alive?
In this table, the Wedding Singer is considered correct if the song is released from mid 84 onwards. Anything before this time and the Wedding Singer gets a black mark in the Oops! column. Note that songs are not released at the same time across the world, but we’re not talking about a few months here…