Don't think you like Adam Sandler? Try this one

Rating: 7/10 (8 March 2004)

This is only the second Adam Sandler movie I've actually looked forward to seeing. The first was _Punch-Drunk Love_, and that was something I was eager to see more because of P. T. Anderson than Sandler, but was pleasantly surprised by Sandler's performance.
This time around, I went in knowing that Sandler had it in him to entertain me, and he did a good job. His schtick is much more in evidence here than in _Punch-Drunk_, and I imagine from other comments that this is much more of a typical Sandler vehicle. However, it is a very sweet story with a lot of humor and heart, and would be a terrific first Adam Sandler film to see if you don't like him.
Drew Barrymore is delightfully fun as Lucy, believably delivering all kinds of unexpected character details like "feelski" and the way she asks questions about all her old friends. Blake Clark and Sean Astin do the best they can with their rather thinly drawn characters. Clark, as usual, lets his voice do most of his acting for him, but he's a treat here as Lucy's father; likewise, Astin takes a turn at using a distinctive vocal style to give his character depth, but unfortunately misses the mark and winds up being just another caricature in a movie that already has 3 by the time we meet him (Alexa, Ula, and Nick the cook).
It is really in the relationship between Lucy and her family that the main weaknesses of this story come out. It seems to me that given how much time the filmmaker spends showing us what a user Henry is, everyone is entirely too trusting of him, though that is probably just a side-effect of the way the movie skips over time as Henry becomes part of their lives. Still, after Marlin's "anybody who's alright with that ain't alright with me" comment, he seems amazingly quick to accept that Henry means well.
I was also disappointed that we never got a payoff from Marlin's photographing Lucy's paintings before painting over them each night. I wonder if that got left on the cutting room floor, and if so why. I thought it showed a real sense of appreciation by him for who she really is. I was also a little disappointed that once the idea is introduced that Lucy can be told the truth, it apparently *never* occurs to anyone that she might be most comfortable hearing the truth *from herself.*
This is one of those movies that from the first time I see the trailer, I start wondering, okay, good set-up, but can they end it right? Well, here's where this movie really does remind me of _Punch-Drunk Love_, because for one thing the ending is very satisfying, and for another it arises out of the character's own strengths instead of relying on something out of the blue.
Original grade: 8 out of 10. Very good: something I'll want to see again.
Revised grade (3/7/2012): 7 out of 10. Worth seeing, but once will probably do.