50 First Dates
Cast
Adam Sandler .... Henry Roth
Drew Barrymore .... Lucy Whitmore
Rob Schneider .... Ula
Sean Astin .... Doug Whitmore
Lusia Strus .... Alexa
Directed by
Peter Segal
Rater #2 has description and review.
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie
Rater #2
6/10. Shoot me, because I think Adam Sandler is pretty much a funny guy. I
like his movies and I think they're funny, and he's enjoyable on SNL,
and even in his more dramatic work () he still was funny. However, I
was a little trepidatious about going to see his latest movie, 50
First Dates, mainly because it was released in February. While I
didn't expect it to be a hysterical masterpiece, a la Happy Gilmore,
it was an enjoyable romcom, a perfect early year release.
Sandler plays Henry Roth, a vet living in Hawaii. His typical
relationships are with tourists; he's afraid of commitment (which
movie character isn't?). That is, until he meets Lucy (Drew
Barrymore). The problem is that she has short-term memory loss, so
every day he has to impress her again and again. It's not as easy as
it may seem, though.
This movie plays like a cross between Groundhog Day and Memento. It's
like the former because he has to change something every day. And
it's like the latter because of the short-term memory loss. But it's
nowhere near as good as them, because it doesn't have the charm nor
the intrigue of either of them. Instead, it's some typical Sandler
humor (including a vomiting walrus!), some other types of humor, and
a simple, sweet story. The plot is relatively simple, with just that
one twist, which not only is a cheap gimmick but adds to the plot.
Personally, I liked Sandler more as a loose cannon than mild-mannered
nice guy. Some moments of his are really great (the aforementioned
walrus was so overdone I actually laughed), with a couple moments of
true hilarity. Some jokes, however, fall flat, and it seems that they
forget that Sandler is a comedian, not a romantic. Their romance
isn't completely believable, but it sufficed. His movies that have
the romance on the back burner always seem to work better, but that's
just my opinion. As is usual Sandler fashion, Rob Schneider comes in
for a supporting role, and to tell the truth he's great. As a drugged-
up Hawaiian guy, the material writes itself. It did disappoint me,
however, that the trademark line "You can do it!" wasn't in there at
all.
Everything I learned about antereo-grade memory loss I learned from
Memento, but I'm ecstatic that they didn't go for the cheesy "she
remembers him after he says he loves her!" Hollywood stuff. In fact,
Barrymore did convince me that she had the ailment, and Sandler
played his usual self. Sean Astin, as a steroid-using lisping body-
builder, is just too odd to comment on, and Dan Aykroyd, in a small
role as a doctor, has one great line, but that's it. 50 First Dates
is a simple movie, nice to sit through, with some good laughs in the
middle of it, but nothing that'll stay with you throughout the rest
of your life.
Rated PG-13 on appeal for crude sexual humor and drug references.
Running time: ? minutes
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