50 First Dates Movie Review:


Henry (Sandler) doesn’t want a long-term relationship, so he always makes a play for the tourist girls visiting Honolulu. This way he knows that nothing is going to last longer than two weeks. His golden rule however is never get involved with a local girl but this might be about to change when he meets Lucy (Barrymore). The two of them instantly hit is off and arrange to meet again at the same restaurant for breakfast the next day. The problem is when Henry turns up the next day and talks to Lucy, she acts like she doesn’t even know him. It turns out that Lucy has a short-term memory problem and can’t make any new memories, so every time she goes to sleep she forgets everything that has happened to her during the previous day. This means that if Henry wants to keep seeing Lucy, he has to make her fall in love with him every single day.

There are two versions of Adam Sandler. First we have the annoying one that uses excessive violence and shouts a lot in films like Little Nicky, Anger Management and Big Daddy. Secondly we have the caring, sharing Sandler who only gets mad at himself in films like The Wedding Singer and Punch Drunk Love. You’ll be glad to know that 50 First Dates has the second Sandler in it, as it is the better one.

Teaming up again with Drew Barrymore, who he worked so well with in The Wedding Singer, we see the lighter, more palatable Sandler playing the romantic-comedy leading man at his most nice. Gone are his usual temper tantrums and unnecessary shouting to be replaced with his average guy persona, which he can play really well. His character Henry Roth is a nice guy what women would actually want to date and men would share a beer with. This is the Adam Sandler we want to see.

Drew Barrymore is also very hit and miss in her career but she seems to come into her own when she stars in light, romantic comedies. This is the perfect type of role for her to play and you can’t help liking her character every time she graces the screen.

The pair has good support from Sean Astin, Lusia Strus and Sandler stalwart Rob Schneider. These characters provide all of the laughs, especially Schneider who is surprisingly good as Hawaiian native Ula, a man drowning in married life, obsessed with surfing and the passiveness of sharks and who lives this life through Henry’s sexual exploits.

The story itself is sugary sweet and a combination of Groundhog Day and The Wedding Singer. There is enough sloppy stuff to keep all the hopeless romantics transfixed and enough laughs to melt even the coldest heart. It keeps its tongue planted firmly in its cheek when it comes to taking the Mickey out of brain injuries but never goes too far as to the point it becomes offensive (which some might see as a shame).
50 First Dates is a great date movie as it does exactly what you expect it too. It works because of the chemistry between Sandler and Barrymore is so good and believeable and the pair makes it possible that you might actually remember the movie for more than one day after seeing it.

Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

 

Imagine you find the girl of your dreams but each morning you have to remind her who you are and that you love her. How would you do it? Well poor bachelor Henry Roth (Adam Sandler) has found that very problem in the girl of his dreams, Lucy (Drew Barrymore).

You see Lucy has a mental disorder due to a severe car accident. Lucy’s short term memory expires each night she goes to sleep. Lucy remembers everything that happened to her before the accident but she can’t save new memories. It’s quite the task for ex-player Henry.

Reluctant to Henry at first are Lucy’s roid-enhanced brother Doug (Sean Astin) and her protective father, Marlin (Blake Clark). Each of them see a slight change in Lucy when Henry is around so they believe that their kin could possibly find the happiness she so deserves.

Now it’s up to Henry to find a way to connect with this special girl. It’s a role of a lifetime but the magic deep in Henry’s heart is up for the challenge. He just has to find that beautiful connection each day.

“50 First Dates” is quite a surprise after witnessing the trailers and commercials circling about regarding the film. The film is actually a sweet, enduring little tale about how we make that connection. I really enjoyed how the film wasn’t afraid to touch on Lucy’s illness with serious undertones. In a lot of comedies these days, films forget that even if a character has an illness it isn’t addressed seriously. For some reason they can be miraculously cured to get that Hollywood ending. “50 First Dates” finds another way but I won’t say how.

Sandler seems to get better with age as he has found a way to mix his unique style of comedy with a more serious and enduring approach to the silver-screen comedy. His original approach didn’t begin in one solitary film but it probably started when he first starred alongside Drew Barrymore in 1998’s “The Wedding Singer”. But his brand of comedy seemed to solidify by 2002’s “Mr. Deeds”. It just amazing how far Sandler has come since his first head-lining film 1995’s “Billy Madison”. Still my favorite Sandler film is 1996’s “Happy Gilmore”.

Sandler and Barrymore are amazing together again and have that same awkward spark that was so wonderful in “The Wedding Singer”. They still seem to pull it off with little effort.

The biggest scene-stealers in the film have to be Sandler’s sidekick Rob Schneider and a “sexually-ambiguous” animal handler named Alexa (Lusia Strus). But the elements that will be remembered the most are the troupe of marine animals that fill Henry Roth’s life which include a walrus and a frisky penguin. You really have to hand to the animal handlers involved in this film. It truly is amazing what they could make a walrus do. I loved that walrus.

I had a few problems with the film’s third act and how some of the finer moments of the story didn’t seem to blend with the film’s overall tone. I liked the film the most when it steered away from the typical romantic comedy clichés. I was cheering for it to overcome some of those stigmatisms. In some ways the ending does and other ways it doesn’t.

What a pleasant surprise this little comedy is. It was such a delight and a lot better than that “Polly” film.

(3.5 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer

Dean Kish

Reuniting with the leading lady from his best film (The Wedding Singer), Adam Sandler finds a way to blend his infantile vulgarity with a charming, beguiling love story. The result is an endearing romantic comedy with moments of outrageous humour that never overwhelm the sweetness, and a light touch that never wallows in it.

Confirmed bachelor Henry Roth (Sandler) is a veterinarian at an ocean theme park in Hawaii, where he also treats visiting female tourists to rampant affairs before sending them home. So when he meets the lovely local girl Lucy (Barrymore), he knows he shouldn't get involved. But hey, she injured her temporal lobe in a car accident and can no longer make new memories--every date could be a one night stand! Then she turns out to be much smarter (and funnier) than he expects. And her protective dad (Clark) and steroid-pumped brother (Astin) aren't going to let him take advantage of her. So he works with his best pal (Schneider) to win Lucy's heart every day. And in the process, he falls for her every day as well.

The stroke of genius is keeping the gross-out humour away from Sandler, leaving it in the capable hands of Schneider's sex-obsessed stoner, Astin's pumped-up nice guy and Strus' energetic hermaphrodite, plus a few walruses and penguins. But director Segal and writer Wing are even smarter: The humour is all character-based, never gratuitous, and it actually provides a needed counterpoint to the overwhelmingly adorable romance. Barrymore is at the peak of her considerable skills with a delightful performance that perfectly balances her goofiness and girl power. She wins our hearts immediately, and miraculously never lets her Memento-like condition become either an object of pity or the butt of a joke. Meanwhile, Sandler's Groundhog Day-like wooing of her is disarmingly genuine; Henry is a thoroughly likeable guy we can really root for. And while it lacks much subtlety it's still one of Sandler's most engaging performances. So even if the laughter isn't quite as uproarious as you expect for a Sandler comedy, the delicate love story is more than we would ever ask for. The final sequence could have been horrifically sappy, but it's directed and played to perfection. In a word: sublime.

Rich Cline

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