Product: 50 First Dates (Widescreen Special Edition) (2004)
Rating: 4.0
"Lucy is a very special person"
After the disappointing experience of watching "Punch-Drunk Love" I was a little hesitant about whether it was wise to pick up this new Adam Sandler movie. But the bunch of hilarious films I have seen with this actor, of which "Happy Gilmore" and "Mr. Deeds" are among the best, convinced me that I had to give "50 First Dates" a chance. I am glad I did, because I found an extremely funny comedy with an interesting plot and scenes that stir the viewer's emotions without becoming touchy-feely. The movie uses a similar idea to "Groundhog Day", but one that is based on different reasons as catalysts of the situation. In the Bill Murray movie, the main character wakes up to the same day over and over. In the film object of this review, Lucy (Drew Barrymore) has no short term memory, so even though it is a different day for everyone else, she is effectively living repeatedly through the same day without being aware of it.Lucy's family and friends try to help her in the process by recreating the day in which she had the accident and lost her short term memory (without the accident of course). But one day she meets Henry Roth (Adam Sandler), who is a guy that is used to running away from commitment by inventing all kinds of ridiculous excuses. The fact that he lives in Hawaii and interacts with a lot of women that are in the look for fun helps him in his cause. But meeting Lucy changes his life, because now he cannot get her out of his head and he is the one looking for something more than just a night of passion. The problem is that Lucy forgets everything about him every day when she goes to sleep and he has the arduous task of making her fall in love with him over and over again.Besides Sandler and Barrymore there are a couple of supporting actors that contribute their fair share to making this movie enjoyable and funny. Rob Schneider delivers a praiseworthy performance in his role of Ula, Henry's best friend. He is the guy in charge of helping Henry in creating new schemes so that he can meet Lucy every day and start the process of making her fall for him. Sean Astin, who most people surely remember from the movie "Rudy", appears as Lucy's brother, who is trying to build up some muscle to pretend to be tougher than he really is.In conclusion, this is a well balanced movie, since it presents moments in which you will laugh your heart out together with others that will arise a myriad of emotions in the audience. The unbelievable scenery adds a definite flair to the overall experience. Those of you that are looking for a comedy that delivers more than cheap laughs, should seriously considering picking this one up.