i just wanna share some observations i've had on the film 50 first dates but it's not like i'm gonna make a point by point critique or anything. the film is obviously a feel good date movie and for one thing its premise about the limits a man must overcome for love and romance, in this case, adam sandler for drew barrymore which once more proves a potent onscreen combination, is what makes it "appealing". lucy, the character of drew barrymore, is a, well of course since this is your typical light romantic flick, sweet, charming and confident, and since its drew barrymore, but still having wit and depth. on the other hand, henry roth(adam sandler) is a freewheeling ladies' man, as we are introduced to in the first part of the movie, with a sweet and sensitive side, as with any adam sandler character (but on the movie that side is brought about mainly to sea animals, him being what i assume as a veterinarian in some ocean world type theme park).

make the long story short, fate has it that henry comes across lucy in a local restaurant, boy falls for girl's charm, sparks fly, and they agree to see each other again the following day. but here's the catch, the next day, henry rolls into the diner and sees lucy but she doesn't remember him anymore and freaks out the moment he goes near and talks to her in a casual manner. so henry is booted out of the place by a hulk of a cook and at this point we are given a lowdown about lucy's unfortunate history. it appears that lucy is suffering from a short term memory disorder, due to a car accident, in which her day to day experiences are literally erased the moment she goes to sleep. what she has retained are her long term memory which constitutes of everything until the time of her accident. but at this point henry is already smitten and as to be expected we will bear witness to how the boundaries of human patience, dedication, and well, occassional obnoxiousness, will be tested for the sake of, umm, love.

there's a generous helping of sandler's brand of comedy(perennial sidekick rob schneider helps provide extra mileage with some of his own playing another weirdo) coupled with touching scenes that would leave you either laughing or teary eyed (as was the case for my date of course) throughout the whole 99 minutes.

another great thing about this movie is the soundtrack. there are a lot of reggae vibe to complement probably the tropical (hawaiin) locale. a number of old tunes done with a reggae twist(the cars' drive and the police's every breath you take for example) but what i appreciate most about it is it sorta introduced me to the beach boys' wouldn't it be nice (funny that i also discovered the group's "don't worry baby" thru another drew barrymore flick). sometimes it takes a movie, the proper timing where it will be placed, for me to appreaciate how good a song is(like, i only started to "listen" to the rolling stones' jumpin jack flash after hearing it on the finale of terry gilliams' adaptation of "fear and loathing in las vegas"... or to tchaikovsky after watching woody allen flicks... nah, i'm just kidding). sandler throws in one track (which was also pretty good ala 1998's the wedding singer) demonstrating his singer-songwriting persona.

the movie ends with an immensely hopeful portrait of lucy and henry taking on married life and parenthood. you may wonder how lucy managed to cope with the demands of pregnancy and motherhood given her condition but hey, this is a light comedy, give it a break. cinema paradiso this isn't but in a world gripped by cynicism, films like this are a welcome respite to remind us that, ummm..., well that... ehem, all is not lost.