WHAT'S HAPPENING : FILM.

Lovable crooner: It takes a certain charm to be a wedding singer. And surprise of surprises, Adam Sandler has it.

``The Wedding Singer'' isn't the sharpest romantic comedy in the world, but it is endearing due in large part to Sandler's ingratiating portrayal of a suburban loser with a sweet personality. Teamed with the always adorable Drew Barrymore, Sandler gives the genre's cliches a fresh, humorous and heartfelt spin.

Set in 1985, the film has good fun with the cultural absurdities of the time. And of course, the ex-``Saturday Night Live'' troubador sings a few new, inventively cracked compositions. All in all, Sandler and ``Singer'' make an unexpectedly good match.

- Bob Strauss

music

Sweet on country: A marital and musical team for 25 years, Robin and Linda Williams layer their voices and guitar patterns with effortless harmony.

Although they are contemporary artists, the Williamses boast sensibilities deeply rooted in country music's past. Their repertoire includes original songs and those gleaned from the rich heritage of Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family.

The Williamses' 14th album, ``Devil of a Dream,'' includes their ``Rolling and Rambling (The Death of Hank Williams),'' which was a hit for Emmylou Harris.

Robin and Linda Williams and their group appear Saturday at the Neighborhood Church in Pasadena.

The Williams duo has been praised by Mary Chapin Carpenter, who marveled at the couple's ability to write wonderful material album after album. Tom Paxton pointed to their connection to the Southern Appalachian folk tradition.

And others have said the Williamses deliver the sweetest husband/wife harmonies since Johnny Cash and June Carter.

The Neighborhood Church is at 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena. Show time is 8 p.m. and admission is $15 in advance and $17 at the door. Information: [phone].

- Fred Shuster

art

Action and reaction: Never mind the intimidating title. ``Out of Actions: Between Performance and the Object, 1949-1979,'' at the Museum of Contemporary Art's Geffen Contemporary, is the most entertainingly provocative modern-art show to pass through L.A. in many moons. Organized by MOCA chief curator Paul Schimmel, this startling maze of an exhibition tracks the evolution of what we now lump together as ``action'' or ``performance'' art.

Bursting out from the rubble of World War II, artists began experimenting with destructiveness as a creative force, and vice versa. Aping the dadaists 50 years before them, they made objects out of half-eaten meals, automobile tires and other industrial flotsam. They hurled paint at canvases, used nude models as ``living paint brushes'' and created abstract designs by spritzing giant pieces of nylon fabric with acid. They literally took to the streets of New York, London, Tokyo and Vienna, transforming themselves into actor-artists with the entire world for their stage.

Sometimes they ended up with a self-indulgent mess. Other times they created objects and artistic strategies that have become part of our cultural vernacular, from MTV videos to Greenpeace demonstrations.

Including works by nearly 150 artists and collaboratives from 20 countries, MOCA's exhibition is the largest attempt yet to link together various strands of art built on impermanence. Among the onetime rebels are several members of influential groups like Fluxus, the New York School, Hi Red Center and the Gutai group, as well pioneers of happenings, process art and performance art.

The Geffen Contemporary is located at 152 N. Central Ave. in downtown Los Angeles. For hours and information, call [phone].

- Reed Johnson

television

Television treats: If you ever doubted that Mel Gibson has range, just check out the networks on Sunday.

First at 7 p.m. on Channel 7, ABC's ``The Wonderful World of Disney'' will show the animated feature ``Pocahontas.'' Gibson gives voice to English settler John Smith, the second lead in the animated movie.

Just as soon as that ends, you can switch over to NBC (Channel 4) to catch Gibson in ``Braveheart,'' a period piece in which he starred and directed. ``Braveheart,'' about the violent struggle for freedom in 13th-century Scotland, won the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars for 1995.

Speaking of the Oscar and animated classics, Helen Hunt (nominated this year for ``As Good as It Gets'') will play Moe the bartender's new squeeze on ``The Simpsons'' (8 p.m. on Fox/Channel 11).

Hunt, by the way, is the real-life other half of Hank Azaria, who plays the voice of Moe.

The episode is a takeoff of film noir ``Double Indemnity'' in which Hunt plays a flower seller who, out of pity, goes out with Moe. Then Moe goes overboard and reaches his credit card spending limit. Eventually, Homer is recruited to steal Moe's car and leave it on the train tracks so the barkeep can collect the insurance.

- Keith Marder

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos

PHOTO (1) A 1949 work by Jackson Pollock is included in MOCA's exhibit ``Out of Actions: Between Performance and the Object.''

(2) An Indian princess befriends an English settler in the Disney animated film ``Pocahontas,'' airing at 7 p.m. Sunday on KABC (Channel 7).

(3) Robin and Linda Williams

(4) Adam Sandler