Unfortunately, for the most part, The Wedding Singer feels like a tribute act that's never quite as good as the real thing.
Ten years after the original film, it's probably safe to say that the flick itself is already as dated as the decade it's b
ased in – so what does a musical version set in 1985 have to offer? Natalie Casey, for one thing. The Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps actress is arguably the best thing in it.
With all the big hair and even bigger shoulder pads involved it would be easy to suggest that Casey was cast because of the former. Leaving lazy gags aside, she looks and sounds great, and at times comes across like a young Bette Midler or Sarah Jessica Parker.
Co-star Jonathan Wilkes is equally gifted vocally but doesn't fare so well on the looks front – thanks mainly to a dodgy wig that makes him resemble Mickey from The League of Gentlemen.
However, both leads have nothing to prove when it comes to musical theatre.
Casey has recently appeared in the West End in Fame and Wilkes has been tearing up the boards in Grease, Tommy and The Rocky Horror Show.
So it's not them – nor any of the talented ensemble – that lets this production down. It's most likely that the stage version stays too close to its celluloid inspiration, despite an original score that feels wholly unoriginal.
Wilkes is Robbie Hart, the wedding singer of the show's title, who is jilted at the altar and as a result goes from being the life and soul of every nuptial he performs at to being so miserable he'd likely not even be welcome at a funeral.
Then he meets waitress Julia (Casey), and falls for her, despite the fact that she's engaged to someone else.
Not much hilarity ensues, with the best gags being the ones lifted directly from the movie.
One of the biggest laughs from the audience came when Wilkes almost toppled over in a dumpster and – in true Acorn Antiques style – a hand appeared from stage left to steady the wobbling set.
It was during one of the final scenes, however, that the crowd finally got the ultimate pay-off.
Travelling to Vegas to prevent Julia from marrying the wrong man, Robbie meets a selection of lookalikes (who bizarrely are travelling in character).
Glazing over the fact that Mrs Thatcher had replaced Cyndi Lauper from the original Broadway version and that Imelda Marcos looked more like Cherie Blair (the implication that we Brits wouldn't know Lauper but would of course recognise a celebrity shoe-shopper), the Tina Turner lookalike completely stole the show with the most outrageous example of scene-stealing you've ever seen.
There's your next show right there – get her back for What's Love Got To Do With It (On Ice, just to make it even more camp).
• Run ends Saturday The full article contains 541 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
