"First" time's a charm

Rating: Null/10 (13 February 2004)

Like him or not, Adam Sandler is a talented guy. Like many of his films, "50 First Dates" is a combination of frat-house humor and luke-warm romanticism. The object of his desire is once again Drew Barrymore, and to the filmmakers credit, this is the least annoying she's been in a while. All of the Adam Sandler Players are present, and Sandler does a fine job of allowing his co-stars some of the biggest laughs of the movie. He is unselfish in that way, and it makes his movies more enjoyable. The benefactors in this particular case are Rob Schneider and Sean Astin. Producer Sandler's true talent though is what he can get away with. This may be the dirtiest PG-13 movie I've ever seen. There is no nudity. There is cursing, but it's innocuous. The movie is riddled with explicit sexual innuendo from start to finish. It's amazing what the ratings board let go. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't offended in the least. I actually think movies are better when they're unfiltered and not watered down to get a specific rating. This could have very easily been rated R though. Taking pre-teens may not be a great idea. If you do, you'll have more 'splaining to do than Lucy Ricardo.