A practically perfect comedy with a delightful screen team.

Rating: 9/10 (24 May 2011)

I can't think of any romantic comedy team of the past 20 years (other than Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan) who perfectly fit each other like Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. They totally charmed me in "The Wedding Singer", so to see them together again in this totally sweet comedy was a treat. This is a film that other than a few sad sequences had me smiling the entire time in addition to laughing. Other than the opening (which seemed out of place, having a dozen or so women talking about their first and last date with Sandler) and a few gag sequences straight out of early Sandler films, this is a complete charmer, filled with romance and humanity, and perhaps, Sandler's most lovable character. As much as I like his early work ("Billy Madison", "Happy Gilmore", and reluctantly "Little Nicky"), those films were filled with an anger missing from this and "The Wedding Singer". Together, Sandler and Barrymore are a perfect match, and I hope they do more films together.
The basic storyline has Sandler meeting Barrymore in a Hawaiian restaurant, and not realizing she is brain damaged following a car accident, pursues her romantically. He has no idea that her short-term memory only lasts one day, and like an etch-a-sketch, erases once she goes to sleep. Rather than desert her, however, Sandler decides that he loves her enough to give up his own dreams just to be with her. He wins the trust of her eccentric father and her lisping, steroid taking brother, who once they realize he is sincere, allow him to court her anew on a daily basis. This leads to a situation that creates many entertaining moments and leads to a potential of sadness that it takes a magnificent writer to end in a satisfying conclusion.
As usual, there are the typically eccentric supporting characters, familiar to those who know Sandler's work. From the funny (if a bit creepy looking) Hawaiian pothead (and his group of likable kids) to Sandler's androgynous Russian co-worker, as well as the staff of the Hawaiian restaurant, there's a lot of amusing bits with these delightful wackos. Even an amusing gross-out bit with a very funny walrus at the beginning doesn't come off as disgusting since its done so sweetly. If more recent Hollywood comedies could be like this, all would be right in the world of cinema. I can't think of another recent romantic comedy that is written with such love. This is what Hollywood magic is all about.