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 Chris' Review: Adam Sandler is just funny. I don't care what anyone says. 50 First Dates has Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore teamed up again. They really are a great team and I can't say enough about them in that regard. The movie was peppered with the lowbrow jokes that Sandler is famous for. Puke jokes right out of the gate... and you could see it coming, too. The thing is, he's such a big kid, he has so much fun with it that it's infectious. You know it's a dumb joke, you find the context disgusting... yet there you are, laughing along with Hollywood's most powerful clown. Sean Astin also has a supporting role as the steroid addicted brother of Lucy (Barrymore)... That's right, he's buff. Right after the pudginess of LOTR... he's all ripped for this role. Go ahead, I dare you to call him a fat Hobbit! Unfortunately, his muscles did nothing for his acting ability. I still love Sean to death.. ever since Goonies, through Encino Man, up to LOTR... but the boy just can't act to save his life. I still love watching him though and I have no idea why. Drew Barrymore once again delivers a sugary performance with that underlying I'll-kick-your-ass-if-you-look-at-me-funny attitude. Sickeningly sweet to beating a guy with a baseball bat (Sandler- "I think he's had enough!" Barrymore-"But I haven't!"). Wonderful fun. The best part of this movie, though, was the soundtrack. Best one since The Wedding Singer . If you don't see the movie, at least buy the soundtrack, you won't be sorry. Overall, plot holes aside (would it be Sandler if it didn't have plot holes?) it was a fun movie... but there was just something missing for me. Even though it had all these great aspects: good writing, great one liners, wonderful music, beautiful interaction, even some tear jerking and the inevitable Sandler "moral to the story"...it just felt like it was running on 4 cylinders instead of all eight. There was a lot of laughter, some memorable moments.. a nice love story and it would definitely make a great first date movie... but in the end, it's like my soda: Sweet, but no real substance, and it's washed out of your system by the time you hit the can. So overall, this gets 4 thumbs up for me. I might buy the DVD.. but only to complete my Sandler collection.   Jim's Review: I can imagine the pitch meeting: "Okay, so, it's like 'Groundhog Day' meets 'Memento'...But it's a romantic comedy, so were casting the stars from 'Wedding Singer.'..." "Great. Let's make it happen." So, maybe "50 First Dates" isn't the most original film in cinematic history. But it is what it is: a touching, bittersweet tale of love doing its utmost to conquer all. Adam Sandler plays Henry Roth, a veterenarian at a Sea World-type theme park in Hawaii. Henry is a confirmed womanizer with a crippling fear of commitment. He makes his way through life putting notches in his belt courtesy of free-spirited lady tourists looking for meaningless vacation flings. But all that changes when he meets Lucy, a cute, bubbly local girl portrayed by Drew Barrymore. The two have breakfast, and seem to hit it off. But when Henry returns to the same restaurant the next day, hoping to see her again, she has no reccollection of him. The gruff but kindly café manager pulls Henry aside to break the news to him: Lucy was involved in a vehicle accident a year earlier, and suffers a unique brain injury...She has zero short-term memory. She can remember everything leading up to the accident, but can't retain anything new. Every night, when she goes to bed, her mind is wiped clean of her whole day. Nevertheless, Lucy's sparkling personality wins Henry over, and he finds himself determined to pursue her, despite the fact that he must try to win her over anew each day. Along the way, he butts heads with Lucy's caring, but overprotective father (The always-funny Blake Clark) and narcissistic, steroid-chugging brother (Sean Astin, who seems to have taken the role of "Doug" primarly to show the world that he's effectively dumped his Hobbit weight). So, original, it's not. But as with most not-exactly-original yarns, the tale is in the telling. And the telling, in this case, is endearing. Henry finds a myriad of unique ways to win Lucy's heart each day, some more effective than others...But all motivated by genuine affection and concern. Nice context touches abound. By the wrap-up, it's clear that Henry has found some effective methods of bridge-building, as we knew he likely would going in...But it's the road he chooses that makes the film. Watch for Dan Ackroyd as a neurotic Neurologist, Sandler sidekick Rob Schneider as a laid-back island bum with a shark fetish, and a disproportionately adorable walrus with more personality than most leading men. I give "50 First Dates" 7 thumbs up. 3 points off for being slightly transparent in concept, but 7 points for being truly funny and genuinely sweet. BackHome - Info - Reviews - Map - Message Board - Photo Album |
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