Product: 50 First Dates (Widescreen Special Edition) (2004)
Rating: 4.0
ROMANCE IS ALIVE AND WELL
Far too many have written off Adam Sandler as a one note performer whose draw as a feature film star is more based on luck than talent. The funny thing is that with all of his detractors, he continues to put out solid films that do well at the box office and more importantly, with his fans. While many of his films have depicted a bungler who runs into good fortune, perhaps his biggest hit involved an attempt to revive the romantic comedy in THE WEDDING SINGER. Now Sandler reunites with his co-star of that film, Drew Barrymore, and shows that the genre is still a valid one.Sandler plays Henry Roth, a vet at an aquarium in Hawaii. He plays life fast and loose, finding a new woman nearly every day and presenting himself as something he is not. Yes, Henry is a player who loves a one night stand. Until fortune sets him on course with the love of his life, Lucy (Barrymore).Meeting by chance at a local restaurant over breakfast, the pair hit it off from the start. The attraction is a strong one, so much so that they make plans to meet the next day for breakfast again. But at that meeting, Lucy acts as if she has no idea who Henry is. A quick chat with the owner and Henry finds out that Lucy is suffering from a rare brain disorder.It seems that she was in an accident a year earlier and the damaged tissue in her brain is that responsible for short term memory. She retains all of her memories prior to the crash but nothing after it. Each day begins as that morning she set out with her father. Her father (Blake Clarke) and brother (Sean Astin) have been perpetuating the myth by passing off the duplicates of that day's newspaper while the family friends at the restaurant keep her thinking it is that day as well.Her family tries to chase Henry off, but he is so smitten that he continues to find ways to see Lucy. Then one day her father calls him over to talk to him. Noticing that she only sings the song that was he and his late wife's song on the days she meets with Henry, they think that perhaps she is making some progress. And so he begins to encourage the couple seeing each other.Then Henry gets an idea. He makes a video for Lucy to watch each morning, showing her what is going on and letting her know what is happening. Each morning becomes a first date for the couple, each kiss a first kiss.When Lucy discovers that Henry has canceled a trip to do research in Alaska to stay and be there for her, she makes a decision. She asks Henry to help her erase all of her memories of him from her journal so that she will forget Henry. In doing so, he would be free to fulfill his plans. Can these two find a way to make the relationship work?This film works on all levels. It is a funny comedy showing the different ways that Henry tries to approach Lucy and win her favor day after day. And it works as a romance because no matter how he does it, he always gets Lucy to fall in love at first sight with him each day. It's a feel good movie that offers a unique twist in the solution it poses by film's end.Sandler does a great job here, not playing the usual buffoon that he does, but showing a soft romantic side. He is growing as an actor and does a great job. The same can be said of Barrymore who has become a much more gifted actress than I think many would have expected of her.The movie is a great family film with only a few touches here and there that might yield themselves for further explanation with the kids at a later date. But on the whole, it is funny, touching and moving for the adults.If you're looking for a good time while watching a movie, then this is the one to pick. It delivers on all accounts and will leave you with a smile on your face and in your heart.