uneven romantic comedy

Rating: Null/10 (9 October 2004)

In '50 First dates' - which might well be subtitled 'When 'Memento' Met 'Groundhog Day'' - Drew Barrymore plays a young woman whose short term memory has been destroyed in a car accident a few months prior to the time of the story. As a result, Lucy wakes up every morning still believing it is the day of the accident, while every night her memory of that current day is wiped away while she sleeps. Her father and her brother have devised an elaborate charade to avoid her finding out the truth, assuming that she will live a much happier life if she is kept in blissful ignorance of her condition. Adam Sandler plays Henry Roth, a veterinarian who's deathly afraid of commitment and figures Lucy is the perfect woman for him. He can woo her afresh every day, secure in the knowledge that their relationship will never have to advance much beyond the getting-to-know-you stage - though this doesn't make for a very logical plan since winning her over day after day requires a lot more work and effort than a conventional relationship ever would. Nevertheless, this seems to Henry to be the ideal setup, until, of course, he begins to actually fall for the hapless young woman, revealing that he is not quite the callous rogue he appears to be on the surface.
Your enjoyment of '50 First Dates' may be predicated on just how willing you are to accept brain damage as a source of mirth and high comedy. If you are somehow able to quell the queasiness that comes with the premise, you might be charmed by what happens in the film.
This is basically a gimmicky, one-joke comedy that indulges in far too many distractions to be very successful. There is, admittedly, a certain sweetness to many of the scenes involving Barrymore and Sandler as they try to make a go of this highly unusual courtship. The final scene, in particular, has a kind of offbeat poignancy that feels both daring and satisfying. However, the film is populated by a whole host of annoying characters who work overtime to deaden the charm: Lucy's steroid-obsessed brother, Henry's creepy co-workers, and even an anthropomorphic walrus who high-fives his trainer, mugs for the camera, and vomits on cue - and whose sizable genitalia serves as the source for one of the many lowbrow gags that run through the film.
In 'Punch Drunk Love,' Sandler proved that he has the potential to stretch as an actor. Barrymore has yet to make that case. Her wide-eyed, innocent ingénue shtick has become a trifle threadbare by now. It's time for her to take a leap of faith into more challenging roles and show us what - if anything - else she can do.