50 First Dates
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: February 13, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
18
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
PremiereSara Brady
The film feels like a natural successor to "The Wedding Singer's" strange blend of humor and humanity, a gently silly comedy that's actually romantic without making anyone sick in the process. And that just might be a first. Read full review
80
Film ThreatKevin Carr
As corny as it is, there’s a lot of heart to 50 First Dates. But this happens more in spite of Adam Sandler than because of him. The heart comes from Drew Barrymore, really, and some of the supporting cast. Read full review
80
EmpireSimon Braund
Charming and effective feel-good fare. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
As a comedy, 50 First Dates is standard Sandler, but as a love story it left me pleasantly buzzed, if not quite punch-drunk. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie doesn't have the complexity and depth of "Groundhog Day" (which I recently saw described as "the most spiritual film of our time"), but as entertainment it's ingratiating and lovable. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Funny, sweet and only mildly offensive. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is that the film doesn't resort to an easy cheat at the end. It plays things straight, and still manages to satisfy, making this one of Sandler's most appealing outings to date. Read full review
70
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
A chick flick for guys, with a pH balance in perfect equilibrium between the crass and the sweet. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDana Stevens
The unlikely sweetness of the story carries the day. What is most astonishing is the confidence with which the filmmakers push their premise to its logical conclusion, turning an ending that could have been either laughable or appalling into something so effortlessly heartfelt as to be nearly sublime. Read full review
70
SlateDavid Edelstein
Wing and director Peter Segal and Sandler and Barrymore have built a comedy around the thrill of first attraction, the sadness that comes from knowing it can't last, and the challenge of finding something in the heart to hang onto. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
For all the irrelevant silliness, though, the movie never loses sight of its romantic center, and the script doesn't cop out with phony miracles or sudden changes of direction. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
I don't think 50 First Dates is a great movie, or a particularly funny one, but I admired its romanticism and its gentle plea for the acceptance of difference. Of how many romantic comedies can you say they are sweet and disturbing? Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The plot -- it's inspired and ridiculous at the same time -- is best described as "Groundhog Day" meets "Memento." Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
A terrible movie by all reasonable standards -- yet it leaves a sweet taste. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
A sweet but weightless and witless romantic comedy, Sandler is not only deeply unfunny, he's deliberately unfunny. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
The movie's sole selling point turns out to be its sweetness. Sandler, Segal and writer George Wing obviously like all of the characters despite the constant ribbing, and Sandler and Barrymore are as cuddly as a pair of love-struck walruses. But only a sucker would get too close. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
If you've never seen a Sandler movie, however, this isn't the one to start with. Proceed only if you're sure you like the guy. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
50 First Dates is working awfully hard to be romantic and not hard enough to be a comedy. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
At each stage of the romance, the movie digresses with a series of swing-and-miss gags, often with an abusive twist. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
You can tell they're desperate when they unashamedly resort to showcasing cutesy sea-creature behavior. Sandler is a funny guy. Let him work for his own laughs. He doesn't need a puking walrus to prop him up. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineEthan Alter
Sandler's shtick is the main thing dragging down this otherwise pleasant romantic comedy, but he's come a long way since the crude, juvenile "Billy Madison" (1995). Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A mildly pleasing romantic comedy, a trifle held together by Drew Barrymore's charm and a decent high-concept gimmick. Read full review
50
SalonStephanie Zacharek
So unself-conscious and breezy that you find yourself sailing along with it; its flaws become as negligible as harmless barnacles nestled well below the water line. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
Although its goofy high-concept premise won't bear much scrutiny, it offers a less predictable ride than their first pairing, and lush Hawaiian locations to boot. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Possesses an undeniable heart. The bad news is that it will still be buried underneath layers of stale Sandlerisms tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
The film repeatedly disappoints because Sandler and his director...have so little faith in focusing on the two characters' plight that they interrupts the romance repeatedly for vulgar, Farrelly brothers-style sexual and ethnic jokes that are so relentlessly unfunny they may not even rouse Sandler's core constituency of 12-year-old males. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It's a kick to see the adorably sexy Barrymore back in relaxed form again after the "Duplex" debacle and that calamitous "Charlie's Angels" sequel. Right now, she's the closest thing to sunshine you'll find at the movies. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Dull and sappy, though anyone who finds Sandler dreamy should love it. Read full review
42
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Sandler and Barrymore generate some believable, if low-voltage, chemistry: they're both so shallow and conceited and dingy that you think -- yes! -- in real life, these two people probably would go for each other in a second. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
What do you get when you mix Adam Sandler with SPAM gags, a trained vomiting walrus, a wall-to-wall soundtrack of calypso covers of 1980s pop hits, and Rob Schneider in native-Islander brownface? You get a pretty crappy movie, but for one major mitigating factor: Drew Barrymore. Read full review
40
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Schneider hams it up as a paunchy middle-aged Hawaiian stoner in an eyebrow-raising ethnic caricature that more than once calls to mind Mickey Rooney's unfortunate Japanese turn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
As Adam Sandler vehicles go, this isn't quite as dire as "Eight Crazy Nights," but any movie that has to fall back on Rob Schneider rubbing his nipples has some serious script issues. Read full review
30
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
Oscillating gracelessly between the coarse and the merely saccharine, 50 First Dates, directed with zero visual or comedic flair by Peter Segal (Anger Management, Tommy Boy), showcases Sandler's cuddlier side as it reprises the tepid chemistry that he and Barrymore road-tested in "The Wedding Singer." Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
It's hard to enjoy this when you're barraged by bathroom humor, animal stunts, and gags about a character whose memory loss is so bad he's called Ten-Second Tom. Read full review
20
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Has nothing going for it -- and much going against it. Read full review
20
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Adam Sandler's 50 First Dates isn't just slovenly and smarmy but creepy.
20
NewsweekDavid Ansen
The creepy subtext of his (Sandler's) behavior is something this crude, mirthless comedy tries not to notice. Read full review
20
Village VoiceLaura Sinagra
The barf stream of gay jokes, pussy jokes, fat wife jokes, more gay jokes, and walrus penis jokes ends up making you pine for Lucy's gift of forgetting. Read full review
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