Amour & amnésie

Henry Roth is a man afraid of commitment up until he meets the beautiful Lucy. They hit it off and Henry think he's finally found the girl of his dreams, until he discovers she has short-term memory loss and forgets him the very next day.

At first, I just liked some of the usual humor: the use of spam to make me believe we were really in Hawaii. And also Rob Schneider, who is often the funniest person in Sandler's films. (He is still good here, though perhaps not at his best.)

I was pleasantly surprised that amidst the stupid humor was an actual story about love and the growing bond of two people. There could have been a variety of "Groundhog Day" jokes. And indeed, there were some. But the character Sandler plays is actually quite sweet. Who knew?

6 July 2004. After a rather lame beginning that reflects the old Adam Sandler's more obnoxious character that he was well noted for, the movie eventually settles down to a rather innovative, creative, entertaining movie that captures the lovely and seasoned acting of Drew Barrymore and a maturing comedian Adam Sandler. While not much in the way of character depth nor real substance, this lightweight but clever movie plays on Groundhog Day and other Momento devices that contribute to a rather fun and enjoyable movie.

Hopefully Drew will begin to expand on her future roles and Adam will begin to enter into a Tom Hanks, Robin Williams maturity phase that will really demonstrate what Adam is made of.

Not being an Adam Sandler fan, we avoided this film when it was released earlier last year. The premise sounded too much like "Groundhog Day". We took a chance the other night when it was shown on cable, and frankly, we found the movie entertaining. There are more laughs in this than in another, perhaps more pretentious picture, "Punch Drunk Love".

Drew Barrymore and Mr. Sandler had worked together before to surprisingly good results. They show an easy chemistry between them that serves the movie well. The idea of making Adam Sandler an aquarium doctor offers a lot of possibilities; his scenes with the walrus are hilarious.

The supporting cast plays well together. A surprise was Rob Schneider, not one of my favorite actors, either, but in here, under the direction of Peter Segal, he delivers. Sean Astin, as the lisping brother on steroids is quite effective, as well as Blake Clark, as Lucy's father. Dan Aykroyd puts an appearance as the doctor who treats the young woman who has lost her long term memory.

Watch it without any preconceptions, as probably it will surprise you.

When "50 First Dates) came to theaters, I really wasn't interested enough to go see it. When it came out on video, I waited about 2 months to see it until it came down to the $1.99 rental price.

Was I surprised! This movie was so entertaining to me, that I wound up buying it. I only buy about 5 or 6 videos a year, so you can see that I really must have enjoyed it. It won't win any Oscars, but it will make you feel good when you watch it.

I am familiar with the condition that Lucy has here having a cousin who has a similar problem and has had it for several years. I was really concerned with how a production company can play a condition like that for laughs, but, somehow, they pulled it off. They treated the subject matter with dignity showing that the people who have this terrible condition can (and do) have somewhat normal lives. My cousin does it the diary way. She doesn't lose her memory everyday, but at different times. She has gone as long as 3 months in retaining her memory and has lost it on other occasions after 4 hours.

I am not a big Adam Sandler fan, having always thought he was a bit "over the top" in his other films. I thought he was going to do this in this film as well after the first few minutes of the movie. However, when he is shown in the diner with Lucy, he shows that he is really a nice guy who, deep down, wants to find a relationship that is fulfilling with a pretty girl.

Drew Berrymore is another actress that I don't particularly care for most of the time, but she is really a sweetheart playing Lucy. She is just so lovable in this role, it's hard to believe that she has the Demons in her past.

Rob Schneider is very good in his supporting role as is Sean Astin as Doug, the 'roid raging brother of Lucy.

Again, not an Oscar winner, but well worth the $15 or so to purchase it at WalMart.

Marty

Okay, so "50 First Dates" is mostly silly, but they do a good job with it. Honolulu veterinarian Henry Roth (Adam Sandler) falls for Lucy Whitmore (Drew Barrymore), only to find out that, due to an accident, her memory only lasts one day, so she won't remember him the next day! How will Henry cope with this? The movie gravitates between goofy and sensitive, but never gets mind-numbing; Adam Sandler always has something up his sleeve, and he and Barrymore have a great time with the material. As is often the case in Adam Sandler's movies, one of the characters is an embarrassment to everyone else (in this case, it's Rob Schneider as Henry's whacked-out friend Ula). Great fun.

Oh, and one more thing: don't watch "50 First Dates" if you haven't seen "The Sixth Sense" first.