50 First Dates Movie Trailer. Screenwriter George Wing loves the romantic comedy genre. The challenge in writing a romantic comedy, he says, is to find a new obstacle for the characters to overcome before they can be together. He first learned of Anterograde Memory Dysfunction from a newspaper article. From that kernel of an idea, he wrote a screenplay that was bought by Columbia Pictures, where chairman Amy Pascal thought it would be a great vehicle for Adam Sandler, who had appeared in such studio hits as Mr. Deeds and Anger Management.
Barrymore’s production company Flower Films already knew about the script and were actively interested in it. “Drew and I had stumbled upon the script for 50 First Dates several years ago,” recalls producer Nancy Juvonen. “When we found out that Happy Madison was going to make it we began a campaign to become involved. We had a wonderful time working with them during The Wedding Singer, and over the years we had grown to know each other as friends, so we practically stalked them until they invited us to come and play with them.”
All the elements for a great romantic comedy were there, Juvonen continues. “This was too good a story to not be involved in. The role of Lucy calls for someone to fall in love all over again every single day, and Drew, who falls in love more passionately than anyone I know on the planet, was a perfect fit. And who better to fall in love with than Adam Sandler’ He’s got such an easy charm. He’s funny, easy-going, laid back. He knows how to use his wit to make you laugh and there is something charming and sexy about that. When Drew responds to somebody, you can see it. She has passion in her eyes.”
The decision to reteam with Sandler was an easy one for Barrymore, who says she had the “best time of my life doing The Wedding Singer. When I’m having a hard day or need to escape outside of my brain,” says the actress, “there are certain types of films that make me feel happy. They are like medicine. To me, Adam’s films are like a beautiful medicine. I believed with all my heart that we were supposed to make this film. I believe in fate and destiny, but I also feel that you have to gently push things through the channels of the universe. So when I ran into Jack Giarraputo at a party, I mentioned to him how much Nan and I loved this story and then I sat down and wrote Adam a letter.”
What enticed Barrymore about the script was the underlying theme behind its premise, she says. “I thought that a story about a man who has to make his girl fall in love with him every day as if each day is new ‘ because in her world it is ‘ was the best thing I’d ever heard of. I just love the idea of someone trying to make somebody fall in love with you every day. I think that should always be a goal. It’s a beautiful practice and a beautiful message.”
“Sometimes Henry misses and sometimes he hits but I think a person’s determination is one of his most underrated qualities. It’s what enables Henry to grow.” Adds Giarraputo, “Adam liked the fact that Henry is a character who becomes a good guy rather than just being a good guy all the time. You start out with someone who is like a revolving door with women. Then he meets this wonderful girl that he likes very much only to discover that there’s a fatal flaw.”
It was Happy Madison that brought Peter Segal into the mix. Says Segal, “I had just spent a year and a half with Adam on Anger Management, and we had a blast. We were deep into post-production when he asked me if I would do this movie and I jumped at the chance. Making a film is a little like going to war. You become closer because movies are physically tough and it takes incredible endurance to live through months of 14 to 16 hour days. In the end you become comrades. So it’s nice to keep the family together.”
Continues Segal, “Adam and Drew were fantastic in The Wedding Singer and they had been looking for the right project to hook up on again. This seemed like an ideal kind of film for that. They are both very smart business people as well as being talented actors. And their companies are incredibly prolific, with a number of projects in various stages of pre-production. It’s very helpful to have actors that know and understand the business.
Drew has made more than 30 films. Nothing can faze someone who’s been around the camera for that long. She’s also one of the nicest people in the world. It’s very rare that someone comes in every day with a smile on her face, shouting out ‘good morning everyone’ and telling a joke of the day. No matter how difficult things got, especially when we were in Hawaii with the sun going behind clouds, then sun again, then clouds, lots of delays, she kept a wonderful atmosphere on the set.”
Barrymore, who had never worked with Segal before, warmed to him right away. “When Nan and I met with Pete, he said every single thing we were hoping to hear about how we wanted the tone of the film to feel. He understood the great balance between the comedy and the drama of the story. And this film needed that because it goes from being very funny to touching on some serious and interesting issues.”
Even after 30 films, given the right project, Barrymore says there’s almost no place she’d rather be than on a movie set ‘ either as an actor or producer, or both. “There are moments when I’m working,” she says “when I can’t believe how lucky I am. Not only am I in an occupation that I chose – which is already a gift – but I’m working on a particular endeavor with a person that I really love. There’s nothing better than waking up every morning looking forward to going to work. Each person involved on a film sets the tone and if they are consistent every day, it makes the whole thing very safe. Adam provides that consistency and safety and levity. He is always kind and nice to everyone, which is so important. Then, creatively he is wonderful to work with because he’s so collaborative. He is always trying to find ‘the funny.’ I’m always learning from him.”
“I think I feel happiest when I’m in an atmosphere with a lot of laughter, and Adam can always make me laugh,” Barrymore continues. “It’s exciting to make a romantic love story with someone you truly think is the greatest person in the world. I don’t think chemistry is something you can fake – and if you have to, it’s a bummer. I think the audience can smell it and sense it.”
According to the film’s executive producer Michael Ewing, who is partnered with Segal in Callahan Films, “there truly is nobody better to work with than Adam. He’s a wonderful actor, a brilliant comedian and a terrific producer and businessman. He’s so smart about story and comedy. When you’re working day-to-day with somebody like that, you never know what might happen.”
Rob Schneider, a long-time collaborator of Sandler’s, plays Henry’s best friend Ula, a role specifically written for him. Ula has tested his theory about sharks several times – that they’re like dogs and will bite only if you tease them. Unhappily for Ula, the theory doesn’t hold water.
Schneider jumped at the chance to play Ula because, “Adam is the absolute best to work with,” he relates. “He creates a real playground, but in a good and structured way. Because we’ve been working together for something like 16 years, we have a shorthand. I’ll think of something, then he’ll think of something else and we’ll bounce it back and forth.”
Sean Astin has the role of Lucy’s steroid-popping, body builder brother Doug. It’s a performance he’s taken to a degree no one anticipated. Says Segal, “Sean is such a good sport. We’ve really given it to him in this movie. He’s playing a small man with an inferiority complex who compensates by lifting weights more than he should. And he’s always trying to pick fights with Henry, who occasionally has to put him in his place.”
“Doug is always working out and doing crunches,” says Barrymore. “He picks up anything that comes to hand whether it’s a barbell or a fish and starts doing reps with it. Sean has given him a crazy muscle-man fetish that’s a great source of comedy and says so much about the character. You get hints of a character in the writing, but the most exciting prospect is giving them the specific quirks and traits that define the individual. Sean has taken Doug above and beyond the written word. He’s awesome and incredibly funny, and at the same time, very touching.”
Astin remarks that finding the key to the character of Doug came through his discussions with Segal. “Pete explained very clearly how he wanted the character to be, very sweet and loving toward his sister. At the same time he’s kind of dopey. All that contributed to my preparation.”
Changing his body to meet the demands of a film role is not a new concept for Astin. “I put on 10 to 15 pounds for Rudy. I took that off when I got married. Then I had to put on 35 to 40 pounds for The Lord of the Rings and then just as I was done taking it off, I got this part and Adam and Peter asked if I could put on some weight. I said to my wife, ‘here we go again’ and headed back to the gym.”
Blake Clark plays Lucy’s father Marlin Whitmore, a fisherman who had to give up his charter fishing business to care for his daughter. In addition to making his fourth appearance in a Sandler movie, Clark had previously shot a television pilot with Segal.
Clark met Sandler when they both appeared in Shakes the Clown, a film about stand-up comedy in which Clark wore a dress, a far cry from his role as Lucy’s tough-with-a-heart-of-gold father.
“This role is a bit more dramatic than some of the things Blake has done in the past,” allows Segal, “but there’s almost always a comedic moment that he knocks out of the park.”
It is a testament to the connection to the character of Marlin that when Wing visited the set and ran into Clark, “I instantly recognized him as if he had sprung from my imagination. I had no idea who he was or what his name was, I just said, ‘Oh my God, you’re Marlin, aren’t you” It was like talking to one of my characters.”
His fellow actors also saw him as the perfect embodiment of the character Wing had created. “Blake not only challenges the tone of this film but makes it come alive in the most profound ways,” says Barrymore. “He has so much heart and soul and beauty coming from his heart and his eyes and his physical demeanor. Marlin is a beautiful person who is protective and loyal and fatherly and gruff, yet he’s a softie underneath. He struggles with his daughter because it’s exhausting to repeat the same day over and over. But there’s also comedy and truth in that, a primal parental thing that he brings to it that’s very real. If someone you loved was hurting, and you had to struggle to make them happier, that is an incredible mission. Marlin really makes it come true.”
In discussing the dynamics of his family in the film Clark says, “Doug and I have given up our lives to take care of Lucy. But even with all the precautions we take – like having dozens of newspapers made up from the day of the accident and having all the regulars at the Hukilau Café in on the ruse – from time to time there’ll be an incident that makes Lucy aware that it’s not October of the previous year. So, when we hear that there is a stranger trying to court her at the Hukilau, it is not good news. It is a complication that we definitely don’t want.
“Aside from the heartache of watching his daughter go through life with such a disabling condition, the worst part for Doug and Marlin,” Clark adds, “is that they are locked into having the same thing for dinner every night. Every night is my birthday dinner and we have to sit down to watch the same Minnesota Viking’s football game, eat the same spaghetti and meatballs with pineapple upside-down cake for dessert.”
Allen Covert, who has co-starred in every Adam Sandler film except Billy Madison, plays ‘Ten Second Tom’ in the movie. “I’m actually the example of how things could be worse,” he laughs. “When they take Lucy to the Institute and explain everything to her again, the doctor says at one point, ‘well it could be worse, and when she asks, ‘How” he introduces her to me. My memory only lasts for 10 seconds so in the middle of conversations I’m constantly re-introducing myself to people.”
Among the many people who conspire to keep Lucy from having a “bad day” are the owners of the Hukilau Café owners, Sue and Nick. “The character of Sue really grounds the movie,” explains Segal. “She’s Lucy’s protector at the diner and always on the look-out that no one takes advantage of her. We needed someone who could capture that kind of tough, yet maternal quality on screen. Amy Hill is an incredibly sweet woman and such a consummate performer that there really was no other choice.”
“When we were in pre-production and discussing character, Adam described Sue as the heart of the film in terms of representing the story’s sweet nature,” recounts Hill. “When I first read the script, I just thought this is so nice and it really does depict the Hawaiian ‘aloha’ spirit. I wanted to be sure that Sue embodied a sort of Hawaiian earth-mother quality. At the same time, there is something very warm and goofy about the story, which essentially is what Adam and Drew are like in real life. That’s their natural gift to the world of filmmaking. At the same time, Adam is also very hands-on, very supportive and takes the work very seriously, though he never takes himself seriously.”
For Sandler and Segal, it was essential that the casting have an air of authenticity about it, according to Ewing. “We wanted to cast people who were native Hawaiian as often as we could. A perfect example is Pomai Brown, who plays Nick. He is so full of life. The moment he walks on the set, you feel you’re in Hawaii.”
“When we were casting the movie,” adds Segal, “we received a tape from Pomai, who auditioned for the role in his kitchen. It was love at first sight.”
“Initially,” says Brown, who is well known in Hawaii for his expert ukulele playing, “Henry and Nick become friends over Henry’s love of peanut butter cups and Nick’s love for Spam. There is truth in that because Spam is a very popular food in Hawaii. It’s kind of a cultural thing. Nick jokes around with Henry, and behind Sue’s back, he’s actually encouraging him in regards to Lucy.”
Brown is grateful for all the input he received from Segal and Sandler in fleshing out the role of Nick. “Pete was the first person who coached me and gave me suggestions. And Adam was absolutely wonderful, because when I first came in I didn’t know anything about acting. He took the time to show me so many different ways to do and say things.”
Another key comedic role is Alexa, Henry’s highly sexed, if not terribly attractive assistant, who is played by Lusia Strus. “In real life, Lusia is extremely attractive,” says Segal, “but we’ve dressed her and done her hair in such a way that she’s really unattractive. The ‘before-and-after’ photos are remarkable. Basically, she looks like a Russian shotputter. She’s been a great sport about it.”
There is one non-SAG actor in the film – Jocko, a walrus who resides at Six Flags Marine World Park in Vallejo, California. According to Allen Covert, “In one of the drafts of the script Henry took care of a walrus, but I thought the relationship was a little too psychological. Why not just have this crazy walrus be a joke machine’ Of course, we had no clue whether we could find a walrus to do this. But we talked to some people at Marine World Park in Vallejo and showed them the script. They said that with enough time, they could teach walruses to do tricks (Jocko is really one of a team of walruses used in the film). The entire time we were filming in Hawaii, they rehearsed the walruses. And they really were hilarious.”
50 First Dates (2004)
Directed by: Peter Segal
Starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Amy Hill, Maya Rudolph, Allen Covert, Pomaika’i Brown, Peter Dante, Jonathan Loughran
Screenplay by: George Wing
Production Design by: Alan Au
Cinematography by: Jack N. Green
Film Editing by: Jeff Gourson
Costume Design by: Ellen Lutter
Set Decoration by: Robert Greenfield
Art Direction by: Domenic Silvestri
Music by: Teddy Castellucci
MPAA Rating: PG-13 on appeal for crude sexual humor and drug references.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: February 13, 2004
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