| “ | That's Grade A, top choice meat. | „ |
| ~ Glenn preying on young women. |
Glenn Gulia is the main antagonist of the 1998 film The Wedding Singer and its musical adaptation.
He was portrayed by Matthew Glave, who also played Mike Holden in The Shield and Larry Gayheart in American Horror Story.
Biography[]
Glenn works as an equity trader. He is Julia Sullivan's fiancée, and it's apparent from the beginning that he's wrong for her. He's inconsiderate, unloving, and cheats on her. In a private conversation, he admits his reasons for marrying Julia are that she would make a good trophy wife and that a woman like that ought to be on the arm of a powerful financier. When asked if he will regret that his days of extramarital sex will end now that he is entering monogamy, Glenn confides that he has no plans of stopping; his career allowing for extensive travel and figuring Julia will never find out.
Julia's unsure of marrying Glenn, namely due to parental pressure. Julia's parents strove to pay the bills and put food on the table in their early years, and they worry she's doomed to a fate of similar squalor with her struggling as a waitress. Glenn, they say, can provide her with a life they could only dream of. One of Julia's reasons is the disgust with her new name "Julia Gulia", and reflects on her nascent attraction to Robbie by calling herself "Mrs. Julia Hart". Due to a misunderstanding, Julia forgets about Robbie and elects to bury her regrets, now devoting herself to Glenn.
Glenn seemed ready to marry Julia after she decides it best to marry him. While Glenn and Julia are on a flight to Las Vegas for their wedding, they are unaware that Robbie Hart, the main protagonist who is also in love with Julia, has tagged along on the same flight, having booked a first class ticket. Also while on board the flight, Glenn preys on a flight attendant, who reports the incident to the first class occupants including Billy Idol, listening to Robbie's story.
As Robbie sings for Julia with the help of the first class passengers and Billy Idol, Glenn tries to attack Robbie only for two flight attendants and Billy Idol to block his pathway with food carts. When Glenn threatens Billy Idol with assault, a muscular fan of the celebrity comes to the latter's defense while the same flight attendant he preyed on shoves him in an airplane bathroom.
What happened to Glenn after that is unknown, although the audience is given hints with his attitude and outlook to the future. Glenn is often shown telling Robbie how he has life figured out, and he figures that because the 1980s are so prosperous, the good times are here to stay. It is likely he ended up unemployed on account of the Wall Street Crash of 1987, also known as "Black Monday" (occurring two years after the events of the film), where many equity firms went bankrupt. Due to Glenn's own arrogance and failure to prepare for lean times, it's highly likely he was left without much money to survive on. He may have found another woman, or may have been left lonely as women like Julia were the ones to stand by their men in difficult economic situations, as opposed to "trophy wives" who turn tail once their husbands' savings dry up
Musical version[]
This version of Glenn remains the same, except that he and Julia arrive in Las Vegas safely. During their wedding, Robbie crashes the ceremony with the help of Vegas impersonators and declares his feelings for Julia, who reciprocates them. The outraged Glenn spills the beans that he is only interested in Julia for her looks and that he cheated with many more women. The impersonators then assault him as a payback.
Trivia[]
- Before Matthew Glave was cast as Glenn Gulia, many other actors were also considered for the part were Christopher McDonald (who played villain Shooter McGavin in Adam Sandler's previous film Happy Gilmore), Jim Carrey, Charlie Sheen, Matthew Broderick, Jon Cryer, David Spade, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell and Owen Wilson.
