50 First Dates (3 Stars)

Amazon Friday #16

This is a film that I've been intending to watch for years. I've put it off because I have mixed feelings about Adam Sandler. In most cases I don't like his films, because his brand of humour is either silly or gross. The only films he's made that I really like are "Little Nicky" and "Pixels".

The film's premise is that a young woman is suffering from Goldfield Syndrome, a form of amnesia, after a car accident. She's lost the ability to create long term memory. She can remember everything that happened up to her accident, but since then she forgets everything that happened the previous day.

Henry Roth (Adam Sandler) works in a Sea Life Centre in Honolulu. One day he meets a beautiful young woman, Lucy Whitmore (Drew Barrymore), in a cafe. They get on great together, but she has to leave to go to her father's birthday party. They arrange to meet at the same place the next day. But when they see each other she doesn't recognise him and accuses him of harassing her.

The cafe's owner used to be Lucy's mother's best friend – she died in the car accident – so she explains to Henry what's happening. She advises him to leave Lucy alone, but he won't give up. Every day he meets her for breakfast. Some days she wants to talk to him, other days she doesn't, depending on the way he approaches her. After a while he begins to visit her father's birthday party. He celebrates his birthday every day, because she thinks it's still the day after the accident. Her father initially warns Henry away, but he accepts him once he realises his intentions are honourable.

The only spoiler I'll give you is that Lucy isn't cured. Every day is her first date with Henry, so she has hundreds of first dates, not just 50. The film shows how Henry manages to deal with this situation.

I like the film's premise a lot. It's a fascinating idea for a film. Unfortunately, I think the idea has been wasted by making the film a comedy. It would have worked much better as a serious film. The film shouldn't make me laugh, it should make me cry. Not that I laughed anyway. I found the comedy stale.

As for the character development, it could have been spared. All it does is present Henry Roth as a completely unlikeable character, a serial heartbreaker. He's shown as someone we have to hate, but suddenly he becomes a nice guy when he meets Lucy. There's no slow character arc. Bang, he's a new man! It's not credible.

Success Rate:  + 0.6

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