Worst Romantic Comedy. Ever.

Rating: 3/10 (27 October 2006)

Yes, I know this is just one person's opinion, and I'm sure you'll disagree and radda radda, yadda yadda etc. But hear me out.
I was a fan of Adam Sandler's earlier movies. 'Billy Madison' and 'Happy Gilmour' were funny films, and you weren't expected to take them too seriously. '50 First Dates' is different though.
Let's have a run down of what I didn't like (it's my prerogative, after all). Adam Sandler isn't really suited to the part. He's a bit of a goof, and I find it hard to take him seriously (in 'Anger Management', okay, but I was rooting for Jack Nicholson the whole time :P). Same goes for Will Ferrell and 'Bewitched'. Secondly, the script is uninspired. Mundane. Average. There's nothing special about it and it sort of teeters between the outrageous, over-the-top comedies like 'Billy Madison' and 'Happy Gilmour' that I liked Adam Sandler in and the more serious romantic comedies. It's like it can't decide what it wants to be. Drew Barymore is Drew Barymore. She's just a character, and her role could be filled by anyone, really (ie. Sandra Bullock, Cameron Diaz, Tea Leoni etc.). Rob Scheider is really, really bad comedy relief. He's like Adam Sandler's on-screen stand-in, and it gets old really fast. The concept is, half the time, taken far too seriously and the other half not seriously enough.
'50 First Dates' wants to be like 'Blind Date' (one of Bruce Willis' first films, and also featured Kim Bassinger). In fact, they are very similar films. But in the end, '50 First Dates' comes off more like 1) a TV soap (it's mushy, it's clichéd and we've seen it all before) and 2) like 'Scary Movie' (it's all tongue-in-cheek, we're not supposed to take it seriously etc.). And it just can't make it work. I like Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, but even their presence can't save this movie. It's too muddled, too divided to be enjoyable.