"Groundhog Day" meets "When Harry Met Sally..." via "Memento"

Rating: Null/10 (17 February 2004)

50 FIRST DATES (2004) *** Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Dan Aykroyd, Amy Hill, Blake Clark, Allen Covert, Maya Rudolph, Pomaika'I Brown. 'Groundhog Day' meets 'Memento' via 'When Harry Met Sally' could've been the pitch for this better than anticipated high concept romantic comedy vehicle for the appealing chemistry laden coupling of a womanizing Hawaiian veterinarian Sandler and artist Barrymore, whose short-term memory impaired by a car accident has him endlessly meeting cute and pitching woo to get her to fall in love with him all over again. What sounds like a one-trick pony of a screenplay novice scribe George Wing makes some nice choices for his characters in moving the plot along with a joke-a-minute pacing that surprisingly works from the get go. Nice to see Sandler reign in his frat boy image and his pairing with Barrymore  very sweet by the way  should be a regular thing not unlike Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan of recent memory. Funny and sweet. (Dir: Peter Segal)