The Goldbergs Review: The Wedding Singer (Season 6 Episode 11)

The Goldbergs Season 6 Episode 11, “The Wedding Singer,” pays tribute to a non-80s 80s movie in an unconventional twist on their usual format.

Using a movie from the late 90s on a show set in the 80s is something that can work on a show like The Goldbergs because it is narrated by the Adam of the future who is aware of, and familiar, with what happens past the retro decade.

If they had stuck to their normal tribute format that they use for films from the 80s it could’ve worked. However, they do not go with the tried and true, and the result is gimmicky and hacky.

And it’s a shame because this is a big episode with a big plot twist, and fitting in the actual plot from the 1998 film, The Wedding Singer, with actual footage from the film takes away from the big moment.

Adam is a lover of movies, so it is no stretch that future Adam would like a film set in the 80s, but why they feel the need to make the characters from the film exist in The Goldbergs universe of the past is beyond me. It’s such a strange choice when their normal way of doing things would’ve worked just fine even with the wonky years.

Getting Robert Englund to reprise his role as Freddy Krueger on The Goldbergs Season 6 Episode 5, “Mister Knifey-Hands,” is brilliant—Jon Lovitz coming back as Jimmie Moore (uncredited in the movie, by the way,) not so much.

It’s not just the one scene of Beverly shopping around for a wedding singer—it might be more tolerable if they kept it at that, but the ending is muddled by a straight replay of the ending of The Wedding Singer intercut with Barry and Lainey making life-changing decisions. 

I am genuinely floored that the wedding falls through. I’m not sure why but they really got me convinced that this was setting up the dynamic for the remainder of The Goldbergs as well as the spin-off, Schooled. Obviously, it still works for both, but it is a twist I did not see coming, and I appreciate that. 

I like being surprised. Sometimes this show is predictable with its cookie-cutter format pulled straight from 80s sitcoms, but even then it still works because the comedy is there. On this episode, they are not predictable at all and that is overshadowed by this peculiar use of the Adam Sandler movie.

It is disappointing because the development of the engaged Barry/Lainey storyline has been going on since the last finale, The Goldbergs Season 5 Episode 23, “Let’s Val Kilmer This Car,” and its culmination plays against film footage with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore who we are supposed to be thinking of as Robbie Hart and Julia Sullivan.

It’s disorienting, to be honest, and such a let down for this heartfelt and mature scene between Lainey and Barry with superb performances by A.J. Michalka and Troy Gentile.

Barry and Lainey aren’t the only casualty of this tone-deaf misstep, Adam’s storyline suffers as well. The course it takes is clever, going from Adam pitching himself as a wedding videographer to him discussing films with Geoff to his insensitive use of sound effects to a therapeutic admission of why comedy is important to him to the final Lainey video—this is all great stuff!

But it gets lost when you’re too busy scratching your head at why you are suddenly watching scenes from a movie that could’ve just been related to in plot, but is now completely enmeshed in a story that would’ve done just fine on its own merits.

Whatever they are trying to do with this method of storytelling, unfortunately, falls flat for this viewer. I prefer the old standby because even if it is predictable, it’s still enjoyable to follow along with.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Know what I mean?

What did you think of this episode of The Goldbergs? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Goldbergs airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on ABC.

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