50 First Dates «««
PG-13, 99m. 2004
Cast & Credits: Adam Sandler (Henry Roth), Drew Barrymore (Lucy Whitmore), Rob Schneider (Ula), Sean Astin (Doug Whitmore), Lusia Strus (Alexa), Dan Aykroyd (Dr. Keats), Amy Hill (Sue), Allen Covert (Ten Second Tom), Blake Clark (Marlin Whitmore), Maya Rudolph (Stacy). Screenplay by George Wing. Directed by Peter Segal.
I had to refer back to a review I wrote back in 2001 of Little Nicky (2000), one of a number of comedies Adam Sandler has been in, to remind myself why, at some point in my life, I swore I would never see a film featuring him.
Sandler is indeed talented. I just can’t stand the voices or the types of personalities he plays. Every time I hear them I equate them to a cat scratching their claws on a chalkboard. I cringe every time I hear them.
I don’t know if it’s because my attitude about Sandler has changed over the years or if it’s because I have been told I don’t see enough comedies or get enough laughter in my life. Since I made that promise to myself, as of this writing, I have seen five movies starring Adam Sandler. There is a different reason as to why I saw every one of those films.
In the case of Little Nicky, I was curious after reading a review in the Chicago Sun-Times by film critic Roger Ebert. He gave the film two and a half stars; his highest rating at the time for an Adam Sandler movie to date. I ended up liking the film giving it an even higher rating of three stars.
I liked Punch Drunk Love (2002) even more, a film Sandler fans stayed away from that was ironically embraced by most if not all film critics like myself. I felt Sandler showed that he is just as capable of doing a romantic drama as he is making comedies.
Prior to seeing last year’s Anger Management (2003), I thought the plot in which the former Saturday Night Live star is sentenced to spending time with a deranged psychologist played by Jack Nicholson would was a great idea. Well the story looked good on paper anyway though I did enjoy seeing the two sing “I feel pretty” in the middle of traffic in New York City.
I was at a friend’s house when I finally saw Happy Gilmore (1996) and the only reason why we watched it was because there was nothing else to see. The most I can say about that film was it was tolerable.
My reasons for seeing 50 First Dates could be two fold, for example, I needed a film to review for the coming week and of the handful of movies that came out Feb. 13, (Friday the 13th), this was the one that was the most promising. I compare this with like trying to figure out who one is going to vote for in a presidential election. I may not like either candidate so I vote for the lesser of the two evils.
I saw 50 First Dates as a test to see if one, would this be yet another picture where Sandler’s character is seen venting out his rage or making gross jokes that sometimes have to do with bodily functions. Two, to see if Sandler can show me another side of him I’ve not seen before. Thankfully, the grossest 50 First Dates ever gets is when a sick walrus vomits all over a veterinarian’s assistant.
Sandler passes the test with flying colors in this romantic comedy in which he plays marine biologist Henry Roth who falls in love with Lucy (Drew Barrymore), a victim in an auto accident that causes her to lose term memory. Seems she can only remember past events prior to the accident but can’t remember what happened the day before.
Such an idea would sound great to someone like Ula (Rob Schneider), Henry’s best friend, who’s only interested in sex. To Ula, Henry could go to bed with her every night and she won’t remember a thing the next morning.
I suppose that could happen if Henry was a complete jerk. Instead, he tries ways to make Lucy remember that he is her boyfriend. He creates different plans like putting a penguin in the middle of the road in hopes she’ll stop before running it over and making her think a thief is attacking him.
What makes 50 First Dates work is not so much the comedic chemistry both Barrymore and Sandler exhibit together. Granted, Henry and Lucy do hit it off the very first time they meet to the point when they depart each is dancing beside their vehicles without the other noticing until the last minute. Her character, however, not only has to go back and relive what happened the day before but so do those around her. Sandler, however, is the selling point.
Just like he proved in Punch Drunk Love, Sandler once again proves here that he can play someone who doesn’t always fly off the handle, as his character did in Happy Gilmore. Here, he plays the complete opposite of the kinds of characters he normally plays; a kinder, gentler person. The best moment is how Henry makes a videotape for Lucy recalling both world events and family experiences she’s missed over the past year.
I won’t deny there is moment where Sandler’s Henry, in a scene obviously inspired by Happy Gilmore, is on the course cussing up a storm after the golf ball he hit failed to go in the right direction.
What a relief it was to find out that the scene was really only a dream Henry had after the ball he hit ricocheted off a tree and hit him in the head.
©2/13/04
PG-13, 99m. 2004
Cast & Credits: Adam Sandler (Henry Roth), Drew Barrymore (Lucy Whitmore), Rob Schneider (Ula), Sean Astin (Doug Whitmore), Lusia Strus (Alexa), Dan Aykroyd (Dr. Keats), Amy Hill (Sue), Allen Covert (Ten Second Tom), Blake Clark (Marlin Whitmore), Maya Rudolph (Stacy). Screenplay by George Wing. Directed by Peter Segal.
Sandler is indeed talented. I just can’t stand the voices or the types of personalities he plays. Every time I hear them I equate them to a cat scratching their claws on a chalkboard. I cringe every time I hear them.
I don’t know if it’s because my attitude about Sandler has changed over the years or if it’s because I have been told I don’t see enough comedies or get enough laughter in my life. Since I made that promise to myself, as of this writing, I have seen five movies starring Adam Sandler. There is a different reason as to why I saw every one of those films.
In the case of Little Nicky, I was curious after reading a review in the Chicago Sun-Times by film critic Roger Ebert. He gave the film two and a half stars; his highest rating at the time for an Adam Sandler movie to date. I ended up liking the film giving it an even higher rating of three stars.
I liked Punch Drunk Love (2002) even more, a film Sandler fans stayed away from that was ironically embraced by most if not all film critics like myself. I felt Sandler showed that he is just as capable of doing a romantic drama as he is making comedies.
Prior to seeing last year’s Anger Management (2003), I thought the plot in which the former Saturday Night Live star is sentenced to spending time with a deranged psychologist played by Jack Nicholson would was a great idea. Well the story looked good on paper anyway though I did enjoy seeing the two sing “I feel pretty” in the middle of traffic in New York City.
I was at a friend’s house when I finally saw Happy Gilmore (1996) and the only reason why we watched it was because there was nothing else to see. The most I can say about that film was it was tolerable.
My reasons for seeing 50 First Dates could be two fold, for example, I needed a film to review for the coming week and of the handful of movies that came out Feb. 13, (Friday the 13th), this was the one that was the most promising. I compare this with like trying to figure out who one is going to vote for in a presidential election. I may not like either candidate so I vote for the lesser of the two evils.
I saw 50 First Dates as a test to see if one, would this be yet another picture where Sandler’s character is seen venting out his rage or making gross jokes that sometimes have to do with bodily functions. Two, to see if Sandler can show me another side of him I’ve not seen before. Thankfully, the grossest 50 First Dates ever gets is when a sick walrus vomits all over a veterinarian’s assistant.
Sandler passes the test with flying colors in this romantic comedy in which he plays marine biologist Henry Roth who falls in love with Lucy (Drew Barrymore), a victim in an auto accident that causes her to lose term memory. Seems she can only remember past events prior to the accident but can’t remember what happened the day before.
Such an idea would sound great to someone like Ula (Rob Schneider), Henry’s best friend, who’s only interested in sex. To Ula, Henry could go to bed with her every night and she won’t remember a thing the next morning.
I suppose that could happen if Henry was a complete jerk. Instead, he tries ways to make Lucy remember that he is her boyfriend. He creates different plans like putting a penguin in the middle of the road in hopes she’ll stop before running it over and making her think a thief is attacking him.
What makes 50 First Dates work is not so much the comedic chemistry both Barrymore and Sandler exhibit together. Granted, Henry and Lucy do hit it off the very first time they meet to the point when they depart each is dancing beside their vehicles without the other noticing until the last minute. Her character, however, not only has to go back and relive what happened the day before but so do those around her. Sandler, however, is the selling point.
Just like he proved in Punch Drunk Love, Sandler once again proves here that he can play someone who doesn’t always fly off the handle, as his character did in Happy Gilmore. Here, he plays the complete opposite of the kinds of characters he normally plays; a kinder, gentler person. The best moment is how Henry makes a videotape for Lucy recalling both world events and family experiences she’s missed over the past year.
I won’t deny there is moment where Sandler’s Henry, in a scene obviously inspired by Happy Gilmore, is on the course cussing up a storm after the golf ball he hit failed to go in the right direction.
What a relief it was to find out that the scene was really only a dream Henry had after the ball he hit ricocheted off a tree and hit him in the head.
©2/13/04
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