2004 / 106 Minutes / PG-13
Reviewed by Jason Jones

When I first heard the premise of this film it sounded as if someone had put “Groundhog Day” and “Memento” in a blender and the result was something involving Drew Barrymore, Adam Sandler, and sea mammals.

To my surprise it was that and a whole lot more. It may not be as well crafted and clever as “Memento”, or as funny as “Groundhog Day” but it does contain an ingredient that those two films were lacking in: heart.

“50 First Dates” proves to be a surprisingly emotional film and yet it never feels manipulative. This is due in large part to the considerable talents of its stars. Sandler, after some shaky early scenes, shows that his performance in “Punch-Drunk Love” was no fluke in his candid portrayal of Henry Roth, a caretaker of a Hawaiian Sea World of sorts. Apparently he is some sort of Hawaiian Don Juan who woos women while they are on vacation only to sever ties with them when their vacation comes to an end.

Henry is quite at ease with the “no strings” relationship lifestyle he has made for himself when one day he finds himself in a restaurant sitting across from Lucy (Barrymore). He manages to start a conversation with her and they actually hit it off. They even make plans to have breakfast again the next day. So when tomorrow comes and Henry arrives for breakfast he is shocked to find that Lucy acts as if she has never met him before in her life. Come to find out, Lucy might as well be Guy Pearce’s sister as she suffers from short-term memory loss. To further complicate things her family and friends recreate the events of the day of the accident that caused her condition every single day. So, in essence, she keeps living the same day over and over again.

Henry falls in love with her and every day he makes it his mission to make her fall in love with him all over again. Some days he succeeds and other days he crashes and burns, but he never stops trying. On the worst days, Lucy finds out that her life is not what she thinks it is. On these days she goes to the doctor and is told that she will never get her short-term memory back. The only consolation is that she won’t remember any of this when she wakes up the next day.

The role of Lucy would be a difficult role for any actress to take on, but Drew handles it with grace and a great deal of conviction. Like Sandler, she gets the opportunity to showcase the full range of her acting abilities in this film. She’s not just a pretty face, as evidenced by her previous work in “Riding in Cars With Boys”, and this performance should help to solidify her status as a talented actress if people give this film a chance.

At this point, you’re probably thinking “Jones! I thought this was supposed to be a comedy?” Have no fear my friends, it is a film that has its fair share of funny moments. Most of these moments are the product of the scene-stealing performance turned in by Rob Schneider as Henry’s friend and coworker Ula. If you were to look up comic relief in the dictionary you should find a picture of him in this role to provide the definition. He is a hopelessly inept man who at the very least is sincere in all of his words and actions no matter how inappropriate they may be. There was one scene in particular that illustrated this. Henry tries to get Lucy’s attention when she is driving by, by having Ula appear to be mugging him. Ula gets a little more of her attention than he was expecting when she starts beating the crap out of him with a baseball bat. I have rarely laughed as hard during a movie as I did at this scene. Depends are optional, but recommended.

“50 First Dates” proves to be reminiscent of “Shallow Hal” in that it is a comedy with a lot more going on than one would suspect. There are a few weak points involving animal humor and whatnot, but not enough to outweigh its surprisingly considerable strengths. It is anchored by strong performances and a fairly clever script that never takes the easy way out, as it always remains true to its premise. That, my friends, is a rare commodity these days, especially in a comedy.

I went in to “50 First Dates” expecting little more than a routine romantic comedy involving Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and sea mammals. I came out having experienced a movie that was far better than it had any right to be.

Quite honestly, I can’t think of anything else I could ask of a movie.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 13th, 2004 at 5:27 pm and is filed under Jason's Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.