| 50 FIRST DATES |
 2004 - USADirector: Peter Segal - Reviewed by Rachel
But the big issue is Sandler himself, who is one of those guys you either love or hate. I don’t really have a problem with him though. I think he’s darn funny. Therefore, I really enjoyed this movie. Yes, the film features certain trademark Sandler moves and his usual posse of actors all make appearances, but it’s not as extreme as you might expect. It’s a tamed down Sandler that allows a tender love story to shine though. Set in Oahu, Hawaii, the visuals are pretty, romantic, and a welcome respite from the cold winter hellhole I currently enjoy [insert sarcasm here]. Sandler plays sea-creature vet and lady’s man, Henry Roth. As an Oahu local, Henry makes a lifestyle of bedding unsuspecting tourists because he enjoys the freedom when they inevitably return to Ohio or wherever they came from. Rob Schneider plays his defacto best friend and is revoltingly hilarious as a half-wit, half-blind Hawaiian with too many children and clothes that don’t quite fit. One day Henry sees Lucy Whitmore (Drew Barrymore) in a diner, strikes up a conversation, and leaves thinking he’s met the woman of his dreams. When he meets her again the next day, however, she has no idea who he is. So this is the premise you already knew from the commercials: Lucy has no short-term memory thanks to a nasty car accident. For the last year, she’s been reliving the same day over and over; always believing it is her father’s birthday, the day before the fateful accident. Her family and the locals go along with this fantasy to spare her the daily trauma of learning that so much time has passed. But despite Henry’s instincts to just keep playing the field, you guessed it... he’s in loooovvveee! So at first he hopes for a miracle—that one day she will remember him. He contrives to meet her every day just so he can talk to her. Eventually Lucy’s protective father and brother realize that Henry is sincere and the three of them start to wonder how life could be better for everyone. So what will happen, you ask? Will Lucy suddenly recover her memory? Will Henry be forced to love her from a distance? Or will they find a more creative solution? Despite the sprinkling of gross-out humor and general wacky tone of this movie, I was surprised by how sweet and moving the love story really was. Henry is a man of romantic extremes: he loves none at all until he meets the one he will love in the face of any adversity. Of course, this is helped enormously by Barrymore’s beauty and adorableness, but you get the idea. Sandler and Barrymore have a definite chemistry that will remind you of their previous collaboration, The Wedding Singer. So don’t be scared off by The Sandler Factor. There are characters that exist only to make you cringe and chuckle, but it’s not the retard festival that The Waterboy was, for example. 50 First Dates is a really cute and quite touching film, in spite of all the walrus vomit. Enjoy. (Hmmm... how about 6 slices? If you just loathe and despise Adam Sandler and there’s no getting around it... think 4 slices.) |
Go to Moviepie Home | Back to Video/DVD |
| Home | Currently Playing | For Rent | Links | "Get to know us!" ©2003 Moviepie e-mail us |
As I start writing this, I’m not sure how many slices to give 50 First Dates. Let’s see how I feel at the end, shall we? I’ve read some other reviews out there and the main problem seems to be a personal distaste for Adam Sandler. Some people just can’t stand him and let’s face it, he puts his unique stamp on every film he does (with the exception of 