Review of 50 First Dates (2004) by Amberm. — 11 Feb 2004

So this is the second bad movie set in Hawaii to be released in the last couple of weeks. (see "Big Bounce") I love Hawaii, but why do all the crappy screenplays have to be set there? Because the writing itself is so godawful, I suppose it needs a little support from the setting.

The movie means well, the plot is clever, and and the acting is by and large pretty good (Sean Astin is hilarious - but is this what a hobbit does when he loses the weird-looking feet?), but so many scenes end with an awkward swing-and-miss THUD that you wonder if the writer wasn't beamed back by the Mars lander.

Absolutely no sense of comic timing. And although Rob Schneider was great, I have a feeling that Hawaiians aren't going to be too happy with his character. (And people thought that "Lost and Translation" was racist!) This sucker pulls out every bad pacific islander stereotype in the book.

I felt a little embarrassed for him. The bottom line is that if you like "Wedding Singer", you'll still like the chemistry between Sandler and Barrymore. You'll just wish it came in a better movie.