Far be it from me to try and tell you whether or not to watch an Adam Sandler movie. I think you should know going that I never used to be an Adam Sandler fan. I found him to be mildly funny back in his Saturday Night Live days, with occasional bouts of accidental brilliance. When he made the leap to feature films I wasn’t surprised, as generally everyone on SNL has had the opportunity to make at least one bad film. What surprised me was that Sandler was able to somehow reach an audience large enough to warrant a slew of bad films, eventually making one of the top paid comedy stars today. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t call Sandler’s early films bad. They certainly have appealed to someone. I tend to put stupid humor into two categories, ‘Intelligent Stupid Humor’ and ‘Stupid Stupid Humor.’ Sandler’s films always seemed to lean more to the latter category. But then something happened. One night, a few years back, there was a screening for “Mr. Deeds.” I was forced to go because I used to write for a really crappy newspaper that happened to be co-hosting the screening.

That night, something happened to me that had never happened at an Adam Sandler movie. I laughed. I actually enjoyed the film.

Sure it was still kind of stupid, but it seemed that it had made the move into that Intelligent Stupid Humor category. The movie was actually funny. Then, last year, I saw “Punch-Drunk Love”, which is the Adam Sandler movie for people who don’t like Adam Sandler movies. But even though his films seemed to be getting better, never once in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would see Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson sitting in a car on a traffic-filled bridge singing “I Feel Pretty.” Yet, that happened a few months ago in “Anger Management.”

When I saw “50 First Dates”, I noticed a trend had begun in my relationship with Adam Sandler movies. I was beginning to like them. Not because they were becoming Academy Award winning films by any stretch of the imagination, but they were becoming… entertaining.

“50 First Dates” had quite the interesting premise as well. Having been intrigued by director Christopher Nolan’s “Memento”, the idea of short term memory loss drew me to this film. In it, Adam Sandler plays Henry Roth, a marine park veterinarian with a penchant for the ladies. He lives for the one night stand. But then he meets Lucy Whitmore, who has this little mental problem. Every day he has to win her over again… and again… and again….

Is the movie hysterically funny? No. But it is entertaining. I have to admit that Sandler and Barrymore have a great chemistry together, so much so that I’ve been tempted to watch “The Wedding Singer”, which I’ve never seen. And for those of you who enjoy Rob Schneider’s little cameos, here he has a much bigger role. And that is where the hysterics lie. He almost steals the film with his Rastafarian take on animal trainers.

Now, where I might not recommend the film to everyone, I will recommend the DVD release from Sony / Columbia Tristar. Here we have one of those cases where the extra features are actually a bit better then the movie. Not all of them, mind you. But a few in particular. Most notable is the inclusion of a Gag Reel. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again that this is my favorite feature on any DVD that has them. The bloopers here are especially funny, again because of Sandler and Barrymore. Then there is the commentary. Director Peter Segal is joined by Drew Barrymore, and she is a hoot. One gets the idea that she is kind of an airhead, which to some degree might be true. But I think some of the giddiness is a bit of a ploy and she plays it well. I think lurking beneath that giggly exterior, is a calculated business woman. After all, just look at how her career as skyrocketed in the past few years. It can’t all be the work of managers.

Though “50 First Dates” is again, much better than most of Adam Sandler’s earlier films, there are those who may still judge it by them. I used to think there was no middle ground with Sandler, you either loved him or hated him. But I have learned a middle ground does indeed exist, and I’m enjoying living in it.

Directed by: Peter Segal
Starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Dan Aykroyd
Extras: Director and Cast Commentary, Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary, The Dating Scene - The Making of 50 First Dates, Music Videos, Comedy Central Reel Comedy Special, Gag Reel, Talkin’ Pidgin Featurette, Filmographies
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 6/15/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Crude Sexual Humor and Drug References)
Website

We'll give 50 First Dates a B-.