50 First Dates (2003)
by Clint Fletcher
Posted: 02/23/0450 First Dates (2003)
by Hank Yuloff
I must start off by saying that I'm a huge Sandler fan. But sadly, as many of you have probably noticed, Adam Sandler comedies have gone downhill over the years. Once a great production company (Happy Madison Productions) that churned out one hit after the other, has now been diminished to generic crap. The new millennium looked promising, with a hell of a closing to the last decade with The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer. But as soon as 2000 kicked in, we got buried with horseshit like Little Nicky and Eight Crazy Nights. And I'm not even going to touch Punch Drunk Love...
Has Sandler lost his touch?
50 First Dates is the year's first great comedic idea for a screenplay. But keep in mind that last year's best comedic concept was Boat Trip, and we all saw how that one turned out (actually most of us didn't). Sandler stars as Henry Roth, and no, the name relation to the great author of the same name is never addressed in the film. To keep a long story short, Roth is a player. He lies to women who visit his home state of Hawaii for vacation, then as soon as they return home, he lies again to get out of a long term relationship. Then comes Lucy (cutie pie Drew Barrymore). For some strange reason, Henry takes a different kind of notice to Lucy than with other girls. After a day of wonderful chatting, Henry soon learns the truth that Lucy was in a car accident a year ago and every night when she goes to sleep, he short- term memory is erased. Her long term memory only reaches the day of the accident, so every morning that she wakes up, she believes it IS the day of the accident. Her father and brother reenact the same day over and over again to spare her from emotional stress. Henry comes along and screws all that up.
So what exactly is wrong with 50 First Dates? Its actually quite a complicated situation: its not funny. Much like other comedies out today, this film seems like it doesn't even attempt to be funny. Instead, it seems to create its own genre somewhere in between drama and comedy. Or maybe its just that the same old gags that the Sandler crew pulls just aren't funny anymore. Of course we can't get through one of his films without the traditional Rob Schneider cameo, but in this case, he is upgraded to supporting role status. Other gross jokes include sea animals vomiting on people, a she-man co-assistant to dump all the gender gags on, and a lisp-speaking, steroid-popping Sean Astin, who plays Lucy's overprotective brother. With the exception of Astin's character, all these jokes feel painfully stale, and the first half-hour of this puppy is pure torture. But as the movie dives into the second act, it also dives into "romance" territory. 50 First Dates may not be funny, but it sure is a cute love story. It is quite humorous watching Sandler come up with different ways to woo Lucy into falling in love with him. Downright hilarious moments worth mentioning include Lucy beating down Schneider with a baseball bat because she thinks he's attacking Henry, and Henry crying hysterically at a café because he claims he can't read. I must also applaud the film's most respected aspect: the ending. After seeing the trailer, most of us could probably figure out how it was going to end by following the traditional Hollywood cliche of dealing with character/memory issues. Well I have news for you... this movie does not end the way you think it does. Not only is the ending surprising, its actually quite refreshing, and adds a lovely twist to the finale of this love story
So what is the biggest problem behind this film? We all know that in reality, Sandler is a truly nice guy. This is also creating his downfall. See, Sandler goes off and finds first-time writers to write for his company so that he can give them a shot in the biz. While this is truly thoughtful, it is also a truly bad idea. Comedy writers need experience, and with the exception of a few flukes, these past few Happy Madison movies have been absolutely wretched.
If you want big laughs, go rent Billy Madison. Or better yet, get really f***ing drunk and watch Punch Drunk Love. But if you're a big fan of Drew Barrymore and cute romantic situations, then take a chance at 50 First Dates.
PS: Girls will LOVE this movie.
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Here is how I cam out of 50 First Dates: Still love Drew. Sandler was the best I have seen him. Here's a good twist on the "live every day over" scenario.
Drew Barrymore is Lucy Whitmore. A year ago, she was in an automobile accident that ruined her short term memory. Every time she goes to sleep, her previous day is erased. She thinks it is October 12 all over again. The people who love her do their best to make her feel like everything is normal on the Hawaiian island they live on and to that end play a charade that makes her feel that it is Sunday all over again. There are some days she finds out but her anger and stress is gone when her head hits the pillow.
Adam Sandler is Henry Roth, a veterinarian at a Sea World type attraction who likes his relationships short term. His specialty is to meet a female tourists, wine her, dine her, sleep with her and send her back to the mainland happy... and without his phone number. Until one fateful day he meets Lucy on Sunday October 12.
They hit it off and plan on meeting the next morning for breakfast as well. But when Henry shows up, Lucy does not remember him. The restaurant owner shares Lucy's story with Henry and we are off to Groundhog Day II.
Normally I could roundly say how much I dislike Adam Sandler's... well, everything. Happy Gilmore had its moments and The Wedding Singer was good but Big Daddy, The Animal, The Waterboy and his part in Anger Management all s u c k e d. But I really liked him in 50FD. He was thoughtful, smart and funny. Not too over-the-top and I even liked the song he sings to Lucy about their relationship.
The cast is excellent. Dan Akroyd (The Blues Brothers, My Girl) is convincing in his role as Lucy's doctor with the great bedside manner. Rob Schneider (from basically any other Sandler movie) is cute as Henry's best friend. Blake Clark (ditto Schneider) is touching as Lucy's caring father. Sean Astin chose this as one of the first projects after being a hobbit for three years and I don't understand why. Did he really need the paycheck for the crap he was made to do and say? And then there is Drew. Ah, Drew. Still too cute for the room, she gets some of the best comic parts of the movie while also having the most dramatic.
This is a really good date movie for adults. It's pace is excellent and they answer all of the nagging plot questions I would have had including what happens a few years later. BUT and this is a big one: if you think you can bring your small tykes to see the latest Adam Sandler movie be warned that the language is very R-rated. There are many, many sexual references that you may or may not want to explain later to the little ones. But you should go see it and laugh at all of them.
Hank Yuloff benefited from seeing this movie so he can continue to teach his class on Husbanding 101. He evidently was able to add a couple of lines to the syllabus.
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