Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore teamed up for the very successful romantic comedy “The Wedding Singer,” and with “50 First Dates,” Barrymore and Juvonen were both really looking forward to working with Sandler again.
“This was too good a story not to 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,” explains Juvonen.
Sandler brought his “Anger Management” director Peter Segal onto the project and Barrymore took 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 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,” says Barrymore.
“50 First Dates” cast and crew attended the movie’s World Premiere held February 3, 2004 in Hollywood, and spoke about the chemistry between Adam and Drew, and working on a romantic comedy with a different twist:
DREW BARRYMORE (‘Lucy’):
Is this movie making fun of amnesiacs?
It's not. It's about a man who goes out of his way to make a woman fall in love with him every day and helps her family cope with this illness by saying, “Don't just have her live the same day over and over. Make her life better. Allow her to grow because she is going to age and she's going to deal.” It's actually incredibly sensitive.
What date would you like to relive over and over?
Well, the first day I met my boyfriend was a day that I could relive for the rest of my life and be very happy, so I would say that's my favorite.
What dating advice would you give?
Don't ever not be yourself.
Keeping with the whole romantic theme, do you have any Valentine's Day plans?
I've got a present for my boyfriend all ready and done, and I'm going to do “Saturday Night Live” that night. Afterwards, [he] and I will have a wonderful Valentine's Night.
DIRECTOR PETER SEGAL:
This is your second movie with Adam Sandler. What did you learn from the first experience?
I learned to just relax a little and let things happen on the set. I'm obviously working with a very gifted comic actor and he's a great writer as well, so he made my job a lot easier.
What's the chemistry like between Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore?
Adam and Drew have a great chemistry. Obviously, they've honed it on another movie several years ago, and it really made my job a lot easier because chemistry is something you can't teach. It's either there or it isn't, and it really came across on screen.
Is the film sensitive to people with amnesia?
It is. We did a lot of research and we did not want to make fun of everything. We wanted to have fun with a subject. It's really a romantic story, but we did our research and we wanted to make sure that people had a good time. I think they will.
ADDITIONAL “50 FIRST DATES” CAST INTERVIEWS:
Blake Clark / Allen Covert / Nick Hexum of ‘311’
Additional “50 First Dates” Resources:
“50 First Dates” Premiere Photos
“50 First Dates” Photo Gallery
“50 First Dates” Trailer, Credits, and Soundtrack News
