50 First Dates Review

Messages: Though Henry starts out as a guy who lies to women he has one-night-stands with in order to keep himself unattached, he ends up being devoted to Lucy. In fact, he becomes so devoted that he helps her to overcome her disability. This is a comedy with some lewd and gross moments, as well as comedic portrayal of people with disabilities, but there is heart that beats beneath the surface.

Role models: Henry definitely starts out as the poster boy for bad behavior, but he shapes up into a stand-up guy by the end of the movie. Lucy is a model of compassionate and kind behavior. Henry does use knowledge of Lucy's soft side to his advantage, but she knows how to stand up for herself -- she even protects herself by wielding sports equipment when she needs to.

Violence: Slapstick violence includes a character being beaten with a baseball bat by a woman (but he's not injured). Lucy is in a car accident and suffers from memory loss, which is a sadness that affects her family daily. A mention that Lucy's mother is deceased.

Sex: From the start, we learn that Henry dates and has sex with many women. References to these escapades include comments like, "He pounded me like a mallard duck." Though crude references and gestures are made, there are no naked images. Some kissing and feeling up.

Language: Offhanded cursing, though pretty frequent: "s--t," "t-ty dance," "ass," "asshole," "balls," "bastard," "bitch," "boob," "booty," "butt," "damn," "dammit," "Goddammit," "hell," "jerk," "piss," "pissed," "crap," "slut," "nympho." Rude gestures like the middle finger show up a number of times too.

Consumerism: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Spam get a strong send-up.

Drinking, drugs and smoking: Numerous references to smoking weed, including a scene where Ula is smoking pot and one where he is eating a pot brownie and feeding it to a dolphin. Characters drink beers or hard alcohol in almost every night-time scene. A woman drinks so that she will lose her inhibitions and have sex with Henry (he stops her). Lucy's brother admits to taking steroids.