For all the irrelevant silliness, though, the movie never loses sight of its romantic center.
50 First Dates (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:169
Fresh:75
Rotten:94
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Gross-out humor overwhelms the easy chemistry between Sandler and Barrymore.
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Scatological and sentimental, satirical and sincere, 50 FIRST DATES pairs Adam Sandler with Drew Barrymore in this romantic comedy about the power of love and short-term memory loss in Hawaii.... Scatological and sentimental, satirical and sincere, 50 FIRST DATES pairs Adam Sandler with Drew Barrymore in this romantic comedy about the power of love and short-term memory loss in Hawaii. Henry Roth (Sandler), the local marina veterinarian, only dates tourists because he's afraid of commitment--that is, until he meets Lucy (Barrymore). Unfortunately, Lucy lost her short-term memory months ago in a car accident, and for her, each day is October the 13th. She follows the same routine every day--breakfast at the same restaurant, pineapple-picking with her dad, and eventually bed time, where sleep wipes away her short-term memory. Henry, however, refuses to be forgotten, and as his puppy love matures, he embarks on a quest to restore her memory, or at least be a part of her everyday routine. But vying for Lucy's attention isn't always easy. Sandler explores various neophytic approaches before making a video for Lucy to watch every morning, reminding her of who she is and what she's doing. The film includes a trademark Sandler ballad as Henry serenades Lucy with his ukulele and a series of familiar salacious puns. Rob Schneider plays Henry's best friend, a goofy native stoner whose physical hijinks earn numerous laughs, and a cameo by Dan Akroyd as Lucy's doctor rounds out the cast. [More]
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Sean Astin
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Dan Aykroyd, Amy Hill, Missi Pyle, Blake Clark, Luisa Strus
Director: Peter Segal
Director: Peter Segal
Screenwriter: George Wing
Producer: Jack Giarruputo, Steve Golin, Nancy Juvonen, Daniel Lupi, Adam Sandler, Larry Kennan
Composer: Teddy Castellucci
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Reviews for 50 First Dates
50 First Dates wants to have it both ways, but only one of them really works.
A contrived romantic comedy that can't decide whether to be charming or crass, "50 First Dates" tries to have it both ways and winds up achieving neither.
When not obsessed with hitting the giggly teenage boy demographic, 50 First Dates concentrates on a situation that requires Sandler to act grown up and responsible.
Tries to cram Sandler's typically vulgar modus operandi into a format that is entirely foreign to him. The combination is unpleasant.
Call me crazy, but I like my romantic comedies to actually have a little comedy in them.
When it's good, it's delightful and charming, with enough laughs to make you want to go on 50 dates with Henry and Lucy. When it's bad, it's awful.
It has a core of sweetness that's undeniable, and which allows the humor to grow beyond the fart jokes.
[A]fter the spate of painful rom-coms that have started the movie year, even one that features an explosively vomiting walrus somehow seems like a breath of fresh air.
Let's enact a law that Adam Sandler can only make movies co-starring Drew Barrymore.
This could have been one of the great date movies. But only those hopeless romantics who are dating a stoned frat guy will be totally satisfied with this patchwork picture.
Even by the standards of an Adam Sandler film, 50 First Dates feels like heap of recycled garbage.
Even though it's populated with juvenile antics, 50 First Dates is still a great date movie, cliched as that sounds.
There is something for almost everyone in “50 First Dates” and I recommend it as a first-rate first date flick.
A rental at best and definitely not one of Sandler's most memorable efforts...not by a long shot!
Way closer to a being a post-There's Something About Mary Farrelly brothers movie than Sandler's typical fare.
(Writer George) Wing and director Peter Segal should have demonstrated more faith in their main plot and skimmed these unnecessary diversions like fat off a brisket.
Nothing more than a witless exercise that is so desperate for laughs that it actually stoops to trotting out a vomiting walrus in the first ten minutes...
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