50 First Dates (2004)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Peter Segal

Writer (WGA):

George Wing (written by)

Release Date:

13 February 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Imagine having to win over the girl of your dreams... every friggin' day.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Short Term Memory Loss | Dream | Veterinarian | Love | Hawaii

Awards:

6 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

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
Pomaika'i Brown	...	Nick (as Nephi Pomaikai Brown)
Joe Nakashima	...	Old Hawaiian Man
Peter Dante	...	Security Guard
Dom Magwili	...	Security Guard
Jonathan Loughran	...	Jennifer

Also Known As:

Fifty First Dates (USA) (alternative spelling)
Fifty First Kisses (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 on appeal for crude sexual humor and drug references.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hawaiian | Mandarin | Turkish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | India:UA | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:6 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-11 | Germany:o.Al. | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (re-rating on appeal) (certificate #40115) | USA:R (original rating) (2003) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Cabrillo Beach, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Originally entitled "50 First Kisses".

Goofs:

Continuity: During the Vikings football game, the announcer informs the viewers that it is fourth down. However, the down marker on the goal line indicates that it is just third down.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Young Woman: So tell me. How was Hawaii?
Tan Friend: It was unbelievable.

Movie Connections:

References Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Soundtrack:

Every Breath You Take

Amazingly Good

Take a little "Memento," Add a generous helping of "Groundhog Day," and even a little of "Sommersby" and you have "50 First Dates". Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler create a synergy that neither has been able to capture with anyone else. Together, they produce a romantic team comparable to Gere and Roberts, Day and Hudson, Grant and Loren and Tracy and Hepburn. My wife and I watch "The Wedding Singer" at least once a year. While "50 First Dates" is a superior movie, I don't know if I can take the melancholy ending again.

For once I'm grateful for the Khamakazee antics of Sandler's acting ensemble, particulary Sean Astin and Rob Schneider. If Schneider wasn't playing such a farcial role, he would be a natural for an Oscar. Certainly the animals add a lot to the farce. The goofy humor makes the basically tragic scenario not only bearable but almost pleasant. It's also genuinely funny.

Sandler convincingly plays a marine biologist(!!!)in Hawaii who enjoys "entertaining" the "mainlanders." Sandler doesn't date "locals". He wants nothing to interfere with his dream of studying walruses. He discovers Barrymore having breakfast in a local bar and grill. What captures Sandler's attention, even more than her beauty, is Barrymore's creativity. What Sandler doesn't know is that Barrymore has brain damage. The brain cells which move short term memory to long term storage are destroyed. She forgots everything she's learned during the day while she sleeps. So, Sandler, the lothario who forgots his relationships with mainlanders after one week finds himself in love with a woman who forgets hers in 24 hours. That's writing genius, something you don't see very often, and Sandler, Barrymore, and Sandler's acting troupe handle it perfectly.

Though my wife is physically handicapped, my mother has severe short term memory loss. So, I really related to the trajedy so expertly portrayed in "50 First Dates". It's not often I give a movie that leaves me this sad a "10". The last time, I believe, was "Sommersby". Nonetheless, "50 First Dates" is a "10," since there is nothing about it I can suggest that make it better.

P.S. Looking forward to the NEXT Sandler/Barrymore collaboration.