Writer: George Wing
Director: Peter Segal
Starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore
Rated: 12a
Running Time: 99 mins
Trailer: Quicktime, Various Sizes
Tagline: Imagine having to win over the girl of your dreams... every friggin' day.

50 First Dates stars Adam Sandler (The Waterboy) as Henry Roth, a veterinarian at a Hawaii sea-life centre. Evidently heÂ’s a bit of a ladyÂ’s man, taking advantage of women who want a bit of dirty holiday fun. That changes when he meets Lucy Whitmore, played by Drew Barrymore (CharlieÂ’s Angels), who has no short term memory due to a car accident. Roth falls for her, and to get her and keep her, he has to make her fall in love with him every day.

The film is full of standard Sandler type jokes (farting, vomiting, beating people up), and if you love that sort of comedy then you will love this film. The laughs are abundant. If youÂ’re not a fan of over the top comedy (like me), you might still like it. The filmÂ’s premise, while corny, gives the film a sweet emotional centre that makes the jokes forgivable if youÂ’re not a fan. Now, if the stars were crap actors, it wouldnÂ’t work, but Sandler and Barrymore can both hold their own. They have a very good chemistry together on screen, similar to The Wedding Singer, making them a very good team.

The rest of the cast does a good job too. Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigilo) is, as usual, a way over the top character, but also making an appearance is Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings trilogy), as LucyÂ’s steroid using, butt clenching, wet dreaming brother with a lisp. He comes off pretty well, and itÂ’s definitely as far as possible from The Lord of the Rings.

Visually and directorially the film is standard fare. The story is corny, the jokes are over the top, but what makes this film watchable is the good ensemble cast and the excellent chemistry between the stars.