Fifty First Dates is a 2004 Film by Peter Segal. It stars Adam Sandler, and Drew Barrymore. The film is set on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Henry Roth (Adam Sandler) is a veterinarian working at Sea Life Park. He has a reputation of being a womanizer. He mainly targets female tourists who visit Hawaii. Lucy Whitmore (Drew Barrymore) on the other hand is the apple if Henry’s eye. Although, what Henry doesn’t know is that Lucy has Anterograde Amnesia. In other words, her memory get’s erased every night, and she thinks it’s October 13th of the previous year.
Aside from the two of them, there are other characters in the story.
Ula (Rob Schneider), Henry’s close friend, is a Marijuana-smoking native of the island of Oahu.
Alexa (Lusia Strus) is Mr. Roth’s assistant, though her sexuality and gender are big mysteries.
Sue (Amy Hill) is the best friend of Lucy’s mother, she continues to watch over and take care of Lucy. She is also the owner of the Hukilau Café.
Doug Whitmore (Sean Astin) is Lucy’s older brother; he is a body builder but unfortunately, depends too much on steroids.
Marlin Whitmore (Blake Clark) is Lucy’s father; he has been widowed, and works as a professional fisherman.
The film begins with Henry sailing around Oahu. He was testing it since he is to use it as his home for a two-year study on Walrus Behavior at Bristol Bay, Alaska. His boat, the Sea Serpent, broke down. He hops onto his lifeboat and rides it going to shore. He then enters the Hukilau Café while waiting for the Coast Guard to arrive to tow his boat. While there, Sue serves him Spam and Eggs. While waiting for his meal, he chances upon Lucy, who is making a house out of her waffles. This immediately catches Henry’s attention. He then stops himself from approaching her as he finds out that she is a local.
Henry comes back to the Hukilau, the following day. He sees Lucy again, having breakfast alone in the next table. He then approaches her and comments on her waffle house. They have breakfast together and instantly get along with each other. They agree to have breakfast again the next day. Breakfast comes and Lucy does not have any memory of Henry from the previous day. With Henry being very confused, Sue explains to him Lucy’s situation. A year prior to the present, Lucy and her father, drove up to North Shore to pick a pineapple for Marlin’s birthday. On their way back home, the two got into an accident when a cow suddenly appeared in the middle of the road. Marlin tried to avoid the cow but sadly, the car hit a tree where Lucy hit her head and got Anterograde Amnesia. She wakes up every morning, thinking it is still October 13, her father’s birthday. To help Lucy and save her from the pain of recalling the accident everyday, Marlin and Doug reenact October 13th everyday. They have a special Sunday October 13th Newspaper printed just for her. They watch the same Minnesota Vikings game, and even refill her shampoo bottles every single day.
Henry does not let this get in the way of him and Lucy being together. He still invites her to breakfast, but it leads to him hurting Lucy’s feelings. Upset with what happened, Lucy storms home. Sue calls Marlin and Doug to tell them about it. Henry then follows Lucy to apologize. Lucy’s family then asks henry to stay away from the Hukilau Café. Knowing that Lucy does the same thing everyday, Henry thinks of ways by which he can run into Lucy every single day. He goes through a lot of trouble everyday just to see her. He (Henry) would create scenarios wherein she would have to interact with him. Some scenarios include a roadblock, his car breaking down, and Ula pretending to mug him. One day, it was Doug and Marlin who passed by Henry. They noticed that Lucy only sings Wouldn’t it be Nice by The Beach Boys on days when she meets Henry. One morning, when they were having breakfast, a police officer was giving Lucy a ticket for having an expired car registration. She insists that they weren’t expired, and even shows the officer the date on the newspaper, knowing that it was October. Then she reads the paper and sees the real date. Her family then tells her the truth about what happened. They also take her to the hospital to see Dr. Keats (Dan Aykroyd) to have hime explain to her, her condition. The following day, Henry gives her a videotape he made. It explains to her what happened during the accident and their current relationship. She watches it every morning to be brought up to speed. Henry did this to attempt to help both of them continue from where they stopped the night before. Lucy then decides to erase Henry from her memory after she finds out that he plans on leaving for Bristol Bay to do a study on walruses.
On the day of Henry’s departure for Bristol Bay, Marlin and Doug visit him at the dock to bid him Bon Voyage. They brought him a box filled with Spam and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Marlin then told Henry that Lucy has been living at the Institute for the past weeks and has been singing. The last farewell gift Henry receives is a Beach Boys CD from Marlin. While sailing away, he listens to the CD and is immediately reminded of the wonderful times he has spent with Lucy. Then realizes that Lucy singing meant that she remembers him. He then turns the boat around and goes to Lucy at the Institute. Henry asks her if she knows who he is. She responds with a no, but shows him a room filled with paintings and drawings of himself.
The movie ends with Lucy waking up and playing a tape entitled “Good Morning Lucy”. It shows her about her accident, but this time shows video clips of their wedding. The tape ends with a clip of Henry telling her to put on a jacket and go to breakfast whenever she is ready. She goes out and sees Henry, her dad, and their daughter. 
I chose the film for several reasons. First is because I like Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore movies, it is sure to be hilarious at some point. Another is it was set in Hawaii, a place with remarkable views. And last is its plot is very out of the ordinary. It has the entertainment value shown in reality TV! It really makes you wonder what will happen next. A love story between a womanizer and someone whose slate gets wiped clean every night isn’t something you see everyday. It seems perfect for Henry, as he doesn’t have to worry about Lucy chasing him after they get together. And yet it seems so unfair for Lucy because, while it goes perfectly for the womanizer, she won’t know a thing when she wakes up the next day. However, the twist to the story is that instead of the Henry taking advantage, he gets attached and intends to help make Lucy better. One would think that he was just doing this to get what he wants. But then who would’ve thought that his intentions are pure. He intended to be a hero to Lucy. It was said in the article by DClarke that a Real-World Hero is someone who is “Representing the ideal self-image, shows achievement or accomplishment, being intelligent, loving and religious”. It was the idea thing for Henry to not take advantage of Lucy’s condition. His achievement was somewhat improving Lucy’s memory and having her recall him. Henry was just down right in-love with Lucy. 
Another factor that got me hooked onto this movie is it being hilarious. Again it is part of the entertainment value of the film. I prefer comedy films to those of a more serious genre.
The last reason why I chose the film 50 First Dates is the setting is in Hawaii. I’ve always wanted to visit Hawaii, Mainly because it is a beautiful place. It is known for breathtaking views and landscapes. In the movie several of there were shown. Most of which have mountains, beaches, and the ocean. These views/landscapes were really shot on location in Hawaii. These places include Kaneohe, Kaʻaʻawa, Wahiawā, Makapuʻu, Waimānalo, Oahu, and Kāne’ohe Bay. Most of the landscapes shown were untouched by developers. It was natural beauty of Mother Earth being showcased at its best.
COSMOPALISTAN 