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At the movies: 50 First Dates

Date 2/19/2004 12:00 AM | Topic: Arts & Culture

Phil: Since it was Valentine's weekend, and Mike and I were two lonely, dateless individuals, we headed to the Viking Theatre in an effort to add some cheer to our pathetic single existence.

Mike: 50 First Dates reunites Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, who pleased audiences with the '80s throwback, The Wedding Singer. The plot is pretty well laid out in the previews. Barrymore plays Lucy, an art teacher living in Hawaii, who after a freak cow/car accident loses her ability to build new memories.

Phil: Sandler plays Henry Roth, a veterinarian at the zoo whose romantic relationships never last more than a week because he only dates tourists. The parade of women extolling Henry's desirability as some sort of Jewish Don Juan is somewhat hard to believe because he's Adam Sandler for Pete's sake.

Mike: Henry's philandering ways come to a halt after meeting Lucy in a local diner. Convinced this is the girl of his dreams, he returns to the diner, only to discover Lucy's rare ailment and that she has absolutely no recollection of him.

Phil: I totally didn't see that one coming.

Mike: Believe it! Sandler's infatuation and Barrymore's Memento-esque memory problems set us up for a wild ride on the romantic comedy roller coaster.

Phil: To be honest, I hate Drew Barrymore with an undying passion. She flat out can't act (probably due to all the coke she snorted after E.T.). However, I didn't mind her in this movie, because the character she plays is chronically confused, which gels perfectly with her vapid personality.

Mike: Henry makes several attempts to win over Lucy each day. Much of the film's comedy comes from the various things he tries. And while it's been in every preview and commercial, Drew Barrymore chasing Rob Schneider with an aluminum bat is wicked hilarious.

Phil: Schneider, a staple in Sandler's films, plays Ula, a sexually frustrated native Hawaiian who lives vicariously through Henry. Schneider is always reliable for comic relief, but Sean Astin trades in his hairy hobbit feet for a tan and a mesh tank top, and nabs a lot of laughs as Lucy's bodybuilding brother Doug.

Mike: With a lisp and references to the side effects of juicing, Doug tries to be the burly protector of his challenged sister, only to realize the realities of his small stature and steals some of the best lines of the movie. Sandler movies are always filled with comical side characters, which gives the actor/comedian a chance to put his buddies in his movies. Unfortunately, while some of the side comments made by periphery characters are pretty funny, others fail to get a laugh.

Phil: One consistently terrible character was Alexa, Henry's counterpart at the zoo. The androgynous Alexa is definitely disgusting, but never funny. At least she gets barfed on by my favorite character: the walrus.

Mike: The animals did bring extra cuteness to the movie and the tropical Hawaiian backdrop is especially appealing in mid-February. Sandler made a big impression with his early movies, Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore, but nothing yet has been able to live up to those great comedies. 50 First Dates gets pretty close though; in a movie driven by jokes, it tells a surprisingly believable love story. The movie made for a pretty good Valentine's date.

Phil: So why haven't you called me yet?

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Petersen and Laaveg

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