The Wedding Shrew

Amado Alfaro-Allah

English 3

4-11-18

Fire Stream

The Wedding Shrew

The Wedding Singer is a 90’s movie that takes place in 1985, it follows the story of a locally famous wedding singer named Robbie. When he tries to get married it turns out that his fiance, Linda doesn’t feel the same way so she abandons him at the altar and leaves Robbie. As Robbie’s depression sets in his gigs become more and more mediocre until he meets a waitress named Julia and instantly falls in love. Robbie later finds out that Julia is marrying a Wall Street shark named Glenn Gulia. Throughout the movie Robbie tries his best to woo Julia with his singing and save her from marriage.

A lot of the instances in the movie correlate with the book Taming of the Shrew, the theme of of men competing for the heart of a young promising women with sidekicks who help the hero win the heart of the lady. Lucentio’s wing man in Taming of the Shrew, is Tranio, when they switch places and Tranio keeps putting in good words of Lucentio, while the wingman in the wedding singer is Sammy, Robbie’s best friend . The main idea of both the book and the movie is that the competition of whoever can marry Julia the fastest. While Glenn is marrying Julia for her to just have a wife when he admits to Robbie he cheats on her contanlly and will continue to do so , like how Petruchio is marrying Kathrine for the money partly. While Robbie truly loves Julia and keeps her in his songs. Just like how Lucentio gives Bianca secret messages in latin. Both Robbie and Glenn want to marry Julia for different reasons but they both know if they marry her then for Glenn it would mean full access of Julia’s father money but for Robbie it would be true love.The whole idea of the Wedding Singer is that Robbie loves Julia so much, he would do anything while its not said if Petruchio truly loves Katherine or he is just marrying her for the money, like how Glenn’s goal to to marry Julia then cheat on her with other women. The money affects how people behave in marriage

(Act 1, Scene 2, Line 117-129)

O Tranio, till I found it to be true,
I never thought it possible or likely.
But see, while idly I stood looking on,
I found the effect of love in idleness
And now in plainness do confess to thee
That art to me as secret and as dear
As Anna to the Queen of Carthage was,
Tranio, I burn, I pine, I perish, Tranio,
If I achieve not this young modest girl.
Counsel me, Tranio, for I know thou canst.
Assist me, Tranio, for I know thou wilt.

This scene in the beginning of “Taming of the Shrew” happens when Luciento and Tranio just arrived in town and are getting ready to attend university until Lucentio sees Bianca for the first time and instantly falls in love. In this scene Lucentio is talking to Tranio how he has instanlly fallen in love with Bianca and asks Tranio to help him out. This connects to the scene in “The Wedding Singer” when Robbie is in a bar and realizes Julia is going to marry Glenn who will constantly cheat on her with other women. While he is talking about how much his loves her with his best friend Sammy, just like how Lucineto talks to Tranio about Bianca.

In this scene Robbie is having a drink with his friend Sammy right after he learns that Julia is really going to marry Glenn, Robbie explains to Sammy how much he loves Julia and wants to be with her but Robbie still thinks that Julia likes Glenn more because he has money in the stock market and a big house. I decided to compare this with the scene where Luciento talks to Tranio and explains his grand plan to Tranio to woo Bianca. Some constraints between the two are that when Sammy gives Robbie the pep talk about love he goes straight away to Julia’s house to try to tell her how he feels, while Lucentio quietly sits back and makes his plan to woo Bianca.

In the plan Lucentio once he begs Tranio to help him while they’re together, like in the movie Sammy and Robbie are talking in the bar while Robbie opens up to Sammy about his feelings about Julia.

(Act 3, Scene 1, Line 32)

Luciento: Hic ibat, as I told you before, Simois, I am Lucentio, hic est, son unto Vincentio of Pisa, Sigeia tellus, disguised thus to get your love, Hic steterat, and that “Lucentio” that comes a-wooing, Priami is my man Tranio, regia, bearing my port, celsa senis, that we might beguile the old pantaloon.

In this scene of “Taming of the Shrew” Lucentio and Hortensio are both giving their “lessons” to Bianca and during their lesson Lucentio while teaching Bianca latin he sneaks in some messages explain who he is and how he is trying to woo her. I compared this to the scene in “The Wedding Singer” when Robbie is playing guitar for Julia in an empty venue singing about love. The reason why I decided to compare these to together because while Lucentio is wooing Bianca directly with fake latin translation, Robbie is wooing Julia indirectly by singing his song about love, being together forever and being happy together married and partly how his ex fiance abandoned him.

Up until this point of the movie Robbie and Julia have spent a lot of time together, Robbie has been helping Julia plan her wedding with Glenn, when they’re trying to find a person to do the music at the wedding Julia convinces Robbie to show off one of his songs he wrote. When Robbie performs it in front of Julia she visibility is interested and is feeling somewhat woo’d to this point, she starts to fall for Robbie at this point. I decided to compare this part of the movie to the part of the book “The Taming Of The Shrew” to the scene where Luciento gives Bianca a fake message in Latin about him. While Bianca tells Lucentio he needs to try harder she is a little interested in him at this point. This scene is comparable because Robbie because although a bit indirect both male characters successfully build there chances with the female leads. While Robbie is focusing on singing his song Julia isn’t worried about money right now she’s thinking about him. Just like how Bianca didn’t know that Luciento was loaded with money but she did start to fall for him even though she almost knew nothing about him.

(Act 5, Scene 2, line 145-180)

Katherine: Fie, fie! Unknit that threat'ning unkind brow
And dart not scornful glances from those eyes
To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor.
It blots thy beauty as frosts do bite the meads,
Confounds thy fame as whirlwinds shake fair buds,
And in no sense is meet or amiable.
A woman moved is like a fountain troubled,
Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty,
And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty
Will deign to sip or touch one drop of it.
Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee,
And for thy maintenance commits his body
To painful labor both by sea and land,
To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,
Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe,
And craves no other tribute at thy hands
But love, fair looks and true obedience—
Too little payment for so great a debt.
Such duty as the subject owes the prince,
Even such a woman oweth to her husband.
And when she is froward, peevish, sullen, sour,
And not obedient to his honest will,
What is she but a foul contending rebel
And graceless traitor to her loving lord?
I am ashamed that women are so simple
To offer war where they should kneel for peace;
Or seek for rule, supremacy and sway
When they are bound to serve, love, and obey.
Why are our bodies soft and weak and smooth,
Unapt to toil and trouble in the world,
But that our soft conditions and our hearts
Should well agree with our external parts?
Come, come, you froward and unable worms!

In one of the final scenes in Taming of the Shrew, Katherine gives a big speech on how she really loves Petruchio and she wants to stay loyal to him. She explains how she wants to be with him and heckles the other women for not having the same amount of compassion and loyalty towards their husbands. At this point it is unclear if Katherine is being loyal to Petruchio for the money or she genuinely loves him This relates to the scene in The Wedding Singer, where Robbie gives his big song explaining how much he loves Julia and how marriages should be between the people you love.

Just before this scene Billy Idol hypes Robbie up by explaining to him that “You can tell if someone really loves you, if they’re willing to be with you no matter what and it's not about money, fancy cars or anything like that”. Robbie is currently on a plane trying to woo Julia one last time before she flies to vegas and gets married to Glenn. In Robbie’s song he explains how money and a big house doesn’t matter as long as he is with her in which Julia kisses him. This compares to the scene in Taming of the Shrew where the last speech Kathrine gives on being a loyal wife and in response after her big speech Petruchio commands Kathrine to kiss him. This relates to the thesis because it could be said that Katherine is only marrying Petruchio for his money but in the wedding singer, Robbie wants to marry Julia because he has such strong feeling towards her.

Both this movie and book hold many differences and similarities when they’re compared side by side. The main issue in this movie was that Robbie assumed he could never be loved or get married because (like his rival Glenn) he didn’t have a lot of money or a big house. Giving the viewer the idea of “If you're not financially stable, no one will want to marry you” or “It’s easier to get married, if you have a lot of money. While the theme in Taming of the Shrew is the competition of who can woo Bianca the fastest and how Petruchio “tames” Kathrine. At the end of the book even if Kathrine did just marry Petruchio for his money it wouldn’t be as frowned upon as it is today. In the movie when Robbie tells Julia that “She’s just marrying him for the money” she gets upset, the reason for this is because people who usually marry rich people without really loving them are labeled “gold diggers” which refers to someone who is only interested in someone for money. This shows us that society even if its a little bit , thinks its dignified to marry someone for who they are and not there money.

Work cited

Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear The Taming of the Shrew.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 26 Mar. 2018.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. The Taming of the Shrew. New York :Signet Classic, 1998. Print.

The Wedding Singer, Robert Simonds, Jack Girraputa,