Charming and Fresh Sandler Romantic Comedy

Rating: Null/10 (20 November 2004)

"50 First Dates" features Adam Sandler in a more subdued comedic role than he has previously exhibited in films. His performance in "50 First Dates" is much akin to "The Wedding Singer", which is a pleasant deviation from his recently zany roles in outrageous comedies. He is teamed once again with Drew Barrymore, and (you guessed it), they once again develop a romance- yet is a romance really a romance when one of the partners cannot recall your name the following morning? This is a clever premise, set most curiously in Hawaii (perhaps the director felt a tropical setting was appropriate for the "sweet and temperate" plot): a man named Henry (Sandler) falls in love with a woman named Lucy (Barrymore), and despite their peculiarities and differences, they manage to really hit it off on the romantic course. That is, until the following morning, when Henry goes to meet Lucy in the diner and is acquainted with consternation: "Who are you?" Yes, Lucy appears to have a memory problem, short-term amnesia, where she cannot recall any events of the previous day. Why does Henry continue to woo Lucy, even after acknowledging that their (conscious) romance can only last a day? Perhaps love at first sight... So ensues a series of hilarious attempts by Sandler to woo and eventually form a romance akin to "Groundhog Day", where the same scenarios are carried out day after day until the man with the prerogative (or disposition thereof) finally decides to make important, helpful use of the situation. This is a sweet, charming, sometimes too sentimental, sometimes too implausible, and even smart, romantic comedy, featuring some delightful performances by Sandler and Barrymore, who once again prove their status as a romantic team in movies. The ending lacked much resolution, but at least it ended on a good note. Overall, I definitely recommend "50 First Dates" as a decent romantic comedy, and a handbook on how to make the girl of your dreams, who believes you are invisible or nonexistent, fall in love with you, time and again. *** out of ****