This is a shocking movie. Not in the sense of the material, because basically it's pretty low-key, but it's shocking that this is actually an Adam Sandler movie and manages to be mature, sweet, funny, and charming all at the same time. Sandler is a good actor, but his filmography reads like a list of crap including some vain projects like "Eight Crazy Nights", and the embarrassing like "Mr. Deeds", so it's a treat watching Sandler act like an adult every now and then. Such rare incidences have been in good movies like "Big Daddy", and "Punch Drunk Love", and if Sandler would stop squandering his talents and stop making crappy movies, he'd go on my list of good comedians.

As I said, this is a very surprising movie, because it's not like every other of Sandler's movies. Yes it has the same gratuitous violence sequence and toilet humor Sandler seems to get an orgasm over, but beyond those two elements this is a surprisingly good movie. Henry is a marine biologist who dances and romances tourist women and dumps them upon the end of their vacation, until one day he meets the beautiful Lucy, a spunky native and instantly falls in love with her. At first glance, Henry seems to just want to have a fling with her, but he realizes she's not like everyone else, and sadly therein lies the problem. He instantly falls in love with her after a very sweet meeting, but the irony is she can't remember him at all.

This is obviously a different kind of Sandler film simply for this utterly sweet premise which manages to create complications for the main character Henry who sees something in Lucy that he hasn't seen in other women before her. The story has a lot of heart and soul for a Sandler comedy because of it's sheer bittersweet storyline in which Henry, completely
infatuated with Lucy, attempts to make her fall in love with him over and over every day. The film does not approach Lucy's mental disability with a mean spirit. Her awakening to Henry is hilarious to watch as she freaks out, but then her disorder is approached with a more sentimental theme, and slowly we reach more comedy drama themes regarding her disability, and Henry's repeated attempts to get her to fall in love with him which are both very funny and very sweet all at the same time.

The scenes where he tries to jog her memory to get to meet her over and over is funny and sweet, because though she has no memory of the previous meeting, she doesn't fall for the same pick-up lines he used the previous day, so his challenge is to make her fall for him again and again, and the scenarios play out like Wile e. Coyote attempting to capture the road runner. This constant plot device is played out into another more dramatic scenario where Lucy's father and brother attempt to keep Lucy from knowing her secret which plays out in a series of pretty sad but funny sequences. These devices while tending to tug on your heartstrings will also make you laugh so it never becomes really exploitative. For a comedy starring Adam Sandler, it's surprising this isn't more gratuitous in its violent content, but surely enough it's enjoyable. Sandler is a lot of fun to watch here with a character the audience knows isn't a good person, but we tend to grow fond of him as the movie progresses.

Drew Barrymore teams with Sandler yet again since the lame "The Wedding Singer", and this teaming is a lot more watchable and funny. Barrymore is hilarious here with a great character that's both sad and funny. See the constant theme? All the while the story progresses we see more and more great moments including when Henry is singing to Lucy, and when Lucy bonds with the animals Henry cares for. You can't help but like this movie, because there is plenty of things to like. This is a great film.

Again, as all Sandler movies does, this squeezes in gratuitous violence into the film ruining the flow of a sweet story. While the violence here isn't as bad or as gross as usual Sandler fare, he just can't seem to grow up and stop including such stupidity to even such a sweet movie as this. There's an animal vomiting all over someone, Barrymore beating Schneider senseless. Mind you, I'm not opposed to beating him senseless, but it's the act of violence that I didn't like. Why was there was need for it in a movie that was really adorable? It just stuck out like a sore thumb. Don't worry Sandler, stop being so insecure, you can go a few movies without violence and you won't lose your fans.

Despite my gripes with the inclusion of Sandler's trademark gratuitous violence that stuck out like a sore thumb, this is nonetheless a surprisingly good film with a sweet story, top-notch acting, and an ending that will really hit your heart strings.

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