Review of 50 First Dates

3/10
"Groundhog Day" Meets "Memento" -- NOT
15 February 2004
Expected to see "Groundhog Day Meets Memento" as a subject of one of the moronic viewers here (although "See It 50 Times!!!" never seemed like a possible refrain so thought I'd try to jump that gun.

Taking the former's premise, penultimate bachelor/hound Sandler has to woo brain-damaged Drew every day in a (totally) different way...

Why he does this (in that totally different way) is never clear. Why she doesn't respond exactly the same way every day isn't clear either.

Which is okay.

My wife and I saw this the day it was released, and we were vacationing in Hawai'i, on Oahu, where some of this is filmed (and where all of it is set).

We'd just visited the Sea Life touristy park where Sandler's character is purportedly one of the marine biologists.

Side note: there are no walruses on any island of Hawai'i, so the entire opening comedy blitz is lame. Sea lions yes. Walruses no.

As for the film, it really couldn't be more manipulative. Some of the comedy yanks a laugh, many of the scenes with Barrymore draw tears.

Schneider's fairly good as a native Hawai'ian but his character is as stereotypical as you'll find (see the Honolulu Star-Bulletin for 2/13/04).

Oh yeah -- Sean Astin isn't a Hobbit here. As Barrymore's brother he's a lisping steroid-enhanced freak.

Literally not worth writing the rest of this review.

Truly a dog among barf jokes.

Rent "The Wedding Singer" if you'd like to see this pair go toe to slipper.
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