A Romance for Romantics...

Well, folks, this movie has Adam Sandler. And based on The Water Boy, you might think the strength of this film is the comedy. You’d be wrong. This is a romance, more sappy then anything Harlequin threw your way. Remember that scene in Romancing the Stone when the editor is crying at the end of the sappy love story because it ends in such a sappy way? That’s 50 First Dates. Five stars for a wonderfully happy ending, and 5 stars for being a movie that teaches us the hope that there is somewhere there is someone for everyone, and in the end, five stars for the theme that love conquers all

Yeah, so I’m a romantic. Let me get on the movie. Lucy (Drew Barrymore) is a girl that loses her memory every night – every night she forgets whatever happened the day before. Sure, she can remember everything up to a year ago, but after that she remembers nothing. Sounds like the start of one of those unbelievable plots, doesn’t it? Yes, it does, and yes, the plot is slightly unscientific.

Enter the male love interest. Henry (Adam Sandler) is a veterinarian at the local Sea World in Hawaii. Generally he likes to hit on tourists, because that way he can have guilt-free sex, and when they head back to the mainlaind he can tell then that he is gay, works for the CIA, or whatever other lie he can come up with to get rid of them. Let’s just say he has a slight problem with commitment.

Of course he meets Lucy – that is rather the story here. So he meets Lucy, and here is the ideal girl for him – he can meet her every day and every night it is as though nothing has happened. There is no commitment, there is no loss of freedom. If he wants to go to Alaska tomorrow, of he goes. So he begins to “date” Lucy.

And what does this mean? Well, it means that every day – every morning, even, he must make Lucy fall in love with him all over again.

There are certain books that suggest that the way to a man’s heart is to play hard to get. Now in this movie, we can argue philosophical theories all we want. The fact of the matter is that the boy makes one hell of an effort, and is willing to make one hell of a sacrifice, for the woman he has fallen in love with. Is that not the ultimate Romance? Man finds girl, man meets girl, man must overcome incredible odds to win girl’s heart. It’s a knight slaying the dragon, and Lucy’s memory problem is one hell of a dragon.

I tell you there is not one man out there that does not want to slay that dragon. He may ask you to get his beers, he may ask you to cook his food. But ladies, what that man really wants is to slay that dragon, and then for you fall at his knees saying “my man is the best in the world – look what he did for me!” A threesome? Sex while parachuting? That ain’t no fantasy. Slaying the dragon – that’s the fantasy.

Sure, there’s humor in this movie, too. There’s a bunch of funny lines. To me the humor is slowed down somewhat by a rather stupid character Ulu (Rob Schneider) and his rather stupid children. But even with Ulu, there’s some funny lines in there.

But this movie is not about the humor. Some of Sandler’s other movies (such as Happy Gilmore) have been comedies with romance thrown in. This one is a romance with comedy thrown in. I understand that some of you might have real problems with the realism in this movie. Others may be disappointed by a slight lack of Sandler’s typical humor. For me, however, the movie is about as great as romantic movies get. It’s got the romance, its got the fantasy, and it even has some humor to go along with it. Five stars for being humorous, but more importantly, five stars for reminding us that in the end, love conquers all.


Cast:

Adam Sandler
Drew Barrymore
Rob Schneider
Lusia Strus
Blake Clark
Sean Astin
Dan Aykroyd
Allen Covert

99 Minutes
Rated PG-13 for some language and adult situations