 Movie
Reviews
with Evelyn Gough
50 First Dates (M)
Directed by Peter Segal
 Drew, er... oops - Rob Schneider and Adam Sandler share a chuckle over Viggo's latest romantic comedy...
Personally, I couldn't stand going on one date with Adam Sandler, let alone 50! And that's the problem I had with this movie (well, one of them anyway), I just don't think he has what it takes to be a leading man in a romantic comedy.
Viggo Mortensen, where are you when I need you?
Sandler is a total goofball and lets face it, no Brad Pitt in the looks department. But then again he was okay in The Wedding Singer, so maybe I just had a problem with this movie and the fact that it couldn't decide what it wanted to be when it grew up, a comedy or a serious drama.
Yep, talk about false advertising.
50 First Dates is being sold as a hilarious romantic comedy when it is actually quite a deep, thought-provoking drama.
Sandler stars as Henry Roth, a veterinarian who works at a marine park in Hawaii. He's quite a lady's man, (or is that "ladies") just so long as the lady doesn't hang around longer than a week.
This all changes when he meets Lucy (Drew Barrymore) having breakfast at a local diner. It's love at first sight for Henry and there is a definite spark between the two of them, so he can't understand why she totally ignores him the following morning.
Turns out Lucy was in a car accident and injured her brain. Now she wakes up every morning with no memory of what happened the day before. Instead, with a lot of help from her father (Blake Clark) and brother (Sean Astin) she relives, over and over, (think Groundhog Day) the last day of her real memory, previous to the crash.
This complicated situation is made even more so by Henry's arrival on the scene. He's determined to be a part of Lucy's life and if that means making her fall in love with him every single day, then so be it.
See what I mean? This is serious stuff and actually quite an interesting concept. If handled intelligently it could have been a decent film.
Alternatively this would have made a great Elvis film, with Ann Margaret playing Lucy and the King starring as a hunky Henry. It just screams corny classic, a la Blue Hawaii.
As it is, this movie is completely forgettable (now I know how Lucy feels). And personally, I don't get off on jokes about Walrus penises or penguins dressed up in miniature Hawaiian shirts.
This is one for diehard Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore and Rob Schneider fans only. (Schneider plays Henry's best friend Ula and is actually the funniest thing in the movie).
And the boyfriend's opinion? Major chick flick (at least he'll score a second date for honesty).
Rating: 
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