50 First Dates

Directed by Peter Segal, 50 First Dates follows Adam Sandler’s Henry Roth as he finds himself falling for a car-crash survivor (Drew Barrymore’s Lucy Whitmore) unable to form new memories. It’s an appealing high-concept premise that is, for the most part, employed to engaging, entertaining effect by Segal, as the filmmaker, armed with a script by George Wing, delivers a briskly-paced romcom that benefits from the completely charming presence of its two stars – with Sandler and Barrymore’s first-class efforts, along with their palpable chemistry together, perpetuating the movie’s compulsively watchable atmosphere. (And it doesn’t hurt, either, that Segal has elicited equally strong performances from a top-notch roster of periphery players, with Blake Clark and Sean Astin’s scene-stealing work as Lucy’s protective father and brother, respectively, standing as an ongoing (and obvious) highlight within the proceedings.) And while certain aspects of the picture fall relatively flat, including (and especially) certain overly broad comedic elements, 50 First Dates boasts an undercurrent of heartfelt romance that proves impossible to resist and compensates for the narrative’s minor missteps – which, when coupled with a thoroughly satisfying climactic stretch, cements the film’s place as both an above-average Sandler release and a timeless romantic comedy.

*** out of ****