One of Sandler's better films...

Rating: Null/10 (25 March 2004)

..."50 First Dates" is about a sleazy dude (Adam Sandler) in Hawaii who again and again tricks tourist women into sleeping with him (he doesn't like commitment...clearly). This all changes when one day he meets Lucy (Drew Barrymore) and basically falls in love with her at first sight. He talks to her. They hit it off. The next day, though, she doesn't know who he is. He's told that she can't keep short term memories for more than a day (think "Memento") because of a car crash so her father Marlin (Blake Clark) and brother Doug (Sean Astin) must recreate the same day over and over again (think "Groundhog Day").
That's basically what this is, "Memento" meets "Groundhog Day". The resulting fare isn't as impressive as either of those films, but it isn't bad either. Lately you could say that Sandler is flushing his career down the toilet (with stinkers like "Anger Management" and "Mr. Deeds"), but this redeems him. There is lots of good comedy - specifically from Sandler's friend "Ula" (Rob Schneider) and Astin's Doug - and even the romance avoids being too sappy.
One mentionable thing is Blake Clark's performance. We haven't seen the guy in anything except small roles, but he shines in this one. His performance as Lucy's dad is subtle and touching and funny, I want to see the guy in more.
So, nothing amazing, but a considerable date movie, I give it a 7/10.