50 Fantastic First Dates

Now comes an extremely biased review that you'd probably all been waiting for. But everyone has a film they can't fault in any way what-so-ever, a film they can watch 40 times and never get bored of it and film that they love more than anything in the entire planet; also known as their favourite film. Well, this one is mine.

50 First Dates (2004) tells the story of committed-shy Henry Roth (Adam Sandler) living on a luxurious Hawaiian island, as he falls in love with the beautiful Lucy Whitmore (Drew Barrymore) to find out that her anterograde amnesia (short-term memory loss) means she forgets him the very next day: meaning he has to try win her love all over again every day.

Anytime I talk to any of my friends about the film, they always bring up the question of "why do you love it so much?" And critics would seem to agree, with a measly (but I feel underrated) 48/100 'Metacritics' score, the film at first glance of a plot and ratings doesn't seem that amazing or out of the ordinary. However, if the film isn't great, why did was it nominated for 15 awards in 2004/2005 winning 6? And why is it still my favourite film 10 years after release?

 

So let's start with the plot shall we? The plot is criticized for being too cliché, but honestly who cares about a clichéd plot if it is absolutely adorable. Honestly, my heart melted at multiple points during the film and you definitely get too easily attached to the plot. It's interesting to see how Henry will try and win Lucy over and in your mind you start to think of ways he could. I loved it. As well as that, there are many sad moments in the film and a really cute ending.

In addition, the film wouldn't be what it was without the once again beautiful acting from the cast. The stand out performance for me was from Barrymore, due to her personality perfectly fitting the role of Lucy. But even with all the cast, you could feel their happiness, pain and you could laugh at their weirdness and their jokes.

For me, the weirdness and the humour made the film what it was. The way even the seal reacts with Henry was enough to crack a laugh with me. The odd, but funny, characters of Ula (Rob Schneider) and Doug (Sean Austin) are both eccentric and hilarious, making you slightly confused and worried about their characters, but at the end of the day they bring a new sense of hilarity to the film.

I can't actually think of much more to say because as I said, this film is my most favourite film of all time even 10 years after it's first release. I can't honestly think of any negatives - maybe because my love of the film has left me stubborn - to complain about. I can't do the film justice in words. I'd recommend the film a million times to someone if they'd never seen it. I've probably watched it 50 times, and still I love to watch it over and over again.

In the words of Henry Roth: "I'm sorry I'm not better looking"

And in the words of Lucy Whitmore: "Can I have one last first kiss?"