Review of 50 First Dates (2004) by Damian M — 28 Jun 2016

I've always hated romantic movies, and I've never really enjoyed comedies (excluding Airplane, which remains one of the funniest movies I've ever seen). Needless to say, I wasn't particularly thrilled when my girlfriend told me she loved rom-coms.

But after sitting through 50 First Dates with her, I don't think it'll be as hard as I thought to watch more in the future. True, it definitely wasn't a great movie. But it also wasn't as inherently awful as I assumed it would be.

Most of the film's benefits come from the "rom" part of its genre. The chemistry between Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore is what carries the story. It's true that neither of the two are particularly good actors (Sandler especially), but the way the two interact is irresistible and adorable at times.

Unfortunately, their chemistry and screen presence is about the only thing that keeps the movie going. Many of the supporting characters, particularly Barrymore's character's brother and Sandler's character's cousin are put on-screen to provide comic relief, which only sometimes works.

Most of the time, it's awkward and gross. And the inclusion of Sandler's bi-sexual Russian co-worker often makes scenes uncomfortable and hard to watch, reminding audiences why Sandler's movies have gone downhill in the past decade.

So, in that regard, its the "com" part of its genre that bogs the film down. Thankfully, 50 First Dates DOES give most of its focus to its lead characters, who provide an unorthodox love story.

The movie's premise of a girl who has her memory reset every morning seems similar to Groundhog Day or the more recent Edge of Tomorrow is familiar, and led me to believe the movie would be very by-the-books.

However, I was surprised at how unpredictable the story was, and even though I kept guessing at what I thought was going to be an obvious ending, I was proven (happily) wrong. In the end, 50 First Dates is a charming love story starring two actors that I thought I was going to hate in the role.

The film's comedy tends to take away from the story, but otherwise it was a warm introduction for me into the world of rom-coms.