MovieReview: "50 First Dates"

title: "50 First Dates"

starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Sean Astin, Rob Schneider, Dan Akyroyd, Blake Clark

genre: comedy

Nothing says Valentine's Day like a romantic comedy about short-term memory loss, starring a man infamous for singing about, among other things, Thanksgiving, Haunakah, and "going at a medium pace." "50 First Dates," which is a flightless film with an ugly underbelly, stars Adam Sandler as Henry Roth, a chauvinistic misfit who works as veterinary doctor at a Hawaiian water park. He's a player with the visiting female tourists, until he accidently stumbles upon Lucy Whitmore (Barrymore), a crumbling woman who is stuck, thanks to a horrible auto accident, thinking and acting every day as if it is the day of the tragedy. In other words, she's half a fragile character stuck in an ever-revolving traumatic pattern, and half a character designed to garner the most laughs because of her deficient mental capabilities. Barrymore and Sandler do have though, excellent chemistry. They were both last seen in "The Wedding Singer," a romantic story that's plotted around an ambiguous setting (the 80's). This time, the film starring the two is plotted around a flimsy character, if only to pair the two together, and if only to trick the audience into a dysfunctional fairy tale. But the best thing about the movie is that it actually works. Besides Sandler and Barrymore, Sean Astin and Rob Schneider throw their weight into sideshow supporting characters, who are fresh faces amidst the regularity of Sandler-esque bathroom humor. "50 First Dates" is, lastly, a great date movie, a blitz of a light laugh that incredibly links the brain and the heart. B+

MPAA: PG-13

................

coming up:

"Girl with a Pearl Earring"

"Taking Lives"

"Eurotrip"

Show all stories by   Author:  29387 ( Click here )