50 First Dates

Is it just me, or, since 1998, have you been anxiously awaiting another romantic comedy pairing Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore? If so, you’re in luck—“50 First Dates.”

For zoo veterinarian Henry Roth (Adam Sandler), life in Hawaii is a seemingly endless series of short term relationships with island tourists until he falls for Lucy (Drew Barrymore). But things are more complicated than they seem. He soon learns that Lucy, due to a brain injury sustained in a car accident, Lucy can’t retain memories of the experiences she has after the accident (the film refers to the damaged faculty—quite incorrectly—as “short term memory”), and, for reasons the film never makes clear, her family has chosen to deal with her injury by recreating the illusion of the same day over and over instead of forcing Lucy to live with the limitations of her injury. This of course brings them into conflict with Henry—because she forgets him every night as she sleeps, Henry must discover a way to make her fall in love with him all over again each day.

Few of today’s stars are big enough to have their own recognizable subgenre, but, like “Bill Madison,” “Happy Gilmore,” “Big Daddy,” and “Mr. Deeds,” “50 First Dates” is a an Adam Sandler Film—eccentric outcasts overcome obstacles to find fulfillment through their relationships with others. “50 First Dates” is a harmless, sweet hearted comedy that, with the exception of scenes involving a vomiting walrus, an androgynous zoo keeper, and an unfortunate side effect of steroid use, is unobjectionable and cute as a button. Despite some obvious weakness, including a total lack of basic neuroscience, the film’s message—something about the value of living for the moment and such—is an appealing one, and Sandler and Barrymore temper the story’s most saccharine elements with a genuine empathy for goofballs like Henry and Lucy who find love in a world that’s kicking their ass on a daily basis.

Matt Parks (February 19, 2004)