Schnieder rules

Rating: 8/10 (3 April 2005)

OK everyone will laugh at this, but I think Rob Schnieder deserves best actor! That is quite a transformation. He is a little geeky guy, but in this movie he transformed into a pretty convincing Samoan (or Hawaiian native). I really bought into the role he played. No, he will not be recognized for an Oscar. Oh well, I still think he did a good job.
I kept thinking the movie was very similar to Groundhog Day in a reversal role. Instead of one person being aware of a repeating cycle, all the people were aware of the cycle, and only one person was unaware of the cycle. It was kind of an annoying twist. I am sorry, but I thought it was so corny. Why was everyone around the amnesiac character, (Lucy), trying to cover the truth? It would be slightly annoying after a year pretending to re-live the same day over and over for the benefit of the amnesiac. Why not tell the person the truth every day? It just seemed dumb to me.
The biggest question I have is: Why would a guy, (that can get any girl he wants), fall in love with an amnesiac with a short-term memory? My response is, he is really stupid or this movies plot is stupid. The character was lame, but not stupid. My conclusion is that the movies plot was really uninspired or "Hollywoodish". A guy that can get laid every night of his life would not fall for Lucy. Why was it established early in the movie that Adam Sander's character Henry was a "player". Henry could, and did, get beautiful women to fall for him on a regular basis. Why would this be established in the film? I think it was to prove he was not trying to take advantage of the mentally ill. If the main character were an average guy that could barely get a date, it would seem seedy preying on a mentally ill girl. Establishing himself as a player indicates that he ignoring Lucy's shortcomings and making a choice above and beyond what he is used to. An average person would just be trying to get a date and laid, and thus, it would be uncomfortable for the audience. Establishing someone that is a player establishes the character as being challenged and thus acceptable. I hate double standards. I would have like to have seen a person desperate for a date go after Lucy. It would have made the audience uncomfortable, and made me happy. IE. Punch Drunk Love. Almost a good one.
78/100