The Good: Funny, Sweet - in a kind or lame way, Character, Acting
The Bad: Mostly predictable plot, Somewhat repetitive
The Basics: When Henry falls for a woman who continues to relive the same day of her life, he must woo her each day in a surprisingly good dramedy.
I'm not, per se, a fan of Adam Sandler. Nor am I particularly endeared with Drew Barrymore. Actually, that part may not be entirely true; I'm not a fan of the "Hollywood Rumormill Drew Barrymore." That is to say, I get pretty sick and tired of hearing all of the b.s. gossip about her, but have nothing in particular against her as a person nor as an actress. So, in short, my expectations were pretty low for 50 First Dates.
50 First Dates, then, came as a pleasant surprise. That was a kind of backhanded way of recommending this movie; I would have recommended it regardless of my expectations. It was that much better than I had anticipated. Basically, I've seen a string of bad movies that I had high expectations for, so that when a movie meets or exceeds my hopes it's something these days! But I digress.
50 First Dates follows Henry Roth, a geeky marine biologist in Hawaii who meets Lucy Witmore one morning at a local restaurant. Taken with her, he arrives the next morning to discover she has no memory of him. Locals quickly reveal to Henry that Lucy had a severe accident and has spent some time reliving the day over and over again. Her father and brother continue to protect Lucy by allowing themselves to be trapped in Marlin's (Lucy's father) birthday day after day. Henry shakes up Lucy's world and he falls in love with her, trying each day to get her to fall in love with her while earning the trust and respect of Marlin.
The thing about 50 First Dates is that it's not entirely absurd or without its charms. In fact, the only real drawback of the movie is that the plot becomes somewhat repetitive. Henry's attempts to woo Lucy begin to get old around the middle of the movie and that is where the film takes a shift from absurd comedy into something endearing and dramatic. There's also a stretch where the movie becomes less about Henry and Lucy and more about Marlin and Henry, shifting from the romance into the story of a man convincing a protective father he's an all right guy.
The other drawback is the beginning; the movie sets itself up as a ridiculous comedy that isn't quite sure what it wants to be. In establishing Henry at work, the viewer is treated to lame animal gags, stupid vomit humor and a pointless androgynous coworker character that dilutes from the movie's sensibilities and sensitivities.
Once the movie decides to be about Henry's infatuation and growing love for Lucy, it begins to hit its stride. There is genuine humor - though most of those scenes were in the previews - like Henry's use of a penguin to get Lucy's attention and him staging a mugging with his friend Ula. Lucy's psychopathic romp on Ula is hilarious and her brother's steroid-lisp scenes are enough to keep the audience smiling.
What makes this dramedy shine, other than the fact that it quickly rejects the ridiculous humor that would have made it like most any other Adam Sandler movie, is that the characters are interesting and the acting clicks. Henry is pretty much the standard quirky, repressed maniac that Sandler does in just about all of his movies. However, Henry is surrounded by characters that force his realism and make him have more depth. Lucy is more than just a pretty face and an amnesia patient; she is a realistic young woman struggling through her days with different moods and reactions. Part of the charm of 50 First Dates is in seeing Henry adapt to the fact that what works one day will not necessarily win Lucy over the next.
A lot of credit has to go to the acting. Sean Astin plays Doug, Lucy's brother, with an incredible ridiculous quality that is a refreshing change from his role in The Lord Of The Rings. Moreover, Astin's weird lisping character forces Adam Sandler to play Henry more straightlaced. Sandler continues to extend his range beyond what we've seen of him in Mr. Deeds and Punch-Drunk Love, to include more subtlety and less of his rehashing of his Saturday Night Live characters. In 50 First Dates, Sandler explores the depth of sincerity that he began to reveal in Punch-Drunk Love (reviewed here!). Thus, it is Sandler's acting that convinces the viewer of Henry's genuine nature and makes it believable that he could convince Lucy's dad.
Blake Clark plays Martin, Lucy's dad. He's a character actor that usually plays blue collar father-figures and here he plays pretty much the same thing. However, unlike the slacker dad he played in Boy Meets World, his genuine, down-to-Earth nature prevails and makes for a very believable, very loving father. Clark has an aspect to him that makes his characters instantly likable and plausible and it is a pleasure to see him getting work in a decent movie.
It is Drew Barrymore, however, who steals this movie. She's a likable person and the role of Lucy is perfect for her. It allows her to illustrate her cute, flirtatious persona, her fun-loving, genuine side and her angry and disturbed side. Barrymore convinces us that Lucy is more than a cheap joke of someone with memory loss. She enhances the character with unpredictable eye movements and body language, infusing the character with a realism that is seldom achieved in romantic comedies.
In the end, 50 First Dates is a romantic comedy with a surprising amount of depth to it and it's worth your time when you want something lighter, but don't want your intelligence insulted.
For other films involving Drew Barrymore, please check out:
Going The Distance
Whip It
He’s Just Not That Into You
Donnie Darko
Charlie's Angels
Ever After
Batman Forever
7/10
For other movie reviews, please be sure to visit my Movie Review Index Page for a complete listing of the films I have reviewed!
© 2012, 2004 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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