Drew Barrymore has revealed the surprisingly dramatic original ending to one of her and Adam Sandler’s most beloved movies. Barrymore and Sandler first demonstrated their intoxicating chemistry in 2004’s romantic comedy 50 First Dates, and to celebrate the movie’s 20th anniversary, Barrymore revealed on The Drew Barrymore Showhow the story almost ended on a very downbeat note.
In a surprising series of revelations, Barrymore revealed that the rom-com classic was initially titled 50 First Kisses and describes the project as “a drama set in Seattle.” But the most surprising reveal is the original ending, which would not have given Barrymore’s Lucy Whitmore, who suffers from short-term memory loss after an accident, and Sandler’s Henry Roth the happily ever after that audiences wanted.
“Something that always sticks in my mind is the original ending of ’50 First Kisses,’ as it was called at the time. Yeah, it was a drama set in Seattle. The original ending was her saying, ‘You should go and live your life, because this is no life here. And he goes away, as he does, and he comes back and he walks into the restaurant and he just sits down and says, ‘Hi, I’m Henry.’ And the film ends.”
Echoing the sentiments of rom-com fans everywhere, Barrymore’s co-host Ross Matthews shared his reaction to the original final moments of 50 First Dates, saying, “Honestly, can I just tell you: thank you. Thank you for changing it.”
How Does 50 First Dates End?
Directed by Peter Segal and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Blake Clark, and Dan Aykroyd, 50 First Dates is set in Hawaii and follows Henry, a playboy marine veterinarian with a fear of commitment, who falls for Lucy, a woman suffering from short-term memory loss. With Lucy’s memory resetting every day, Henry must woo her over and over again, while figuring out how to help her remember him.
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The ending finds Henry doing just that, with Lucy painting pictures of Henry despite their time apart. The final moments find Henry and Lucy living together with their young daughter on a boat in Alaska, with Lucy watching a videotape every morning to remind her of the life they’ve shared. While the implications of this are a little creepy and arguably pretty terrifying if you dwell on them too much, it’s sold as a happy ending and feels like one in the moment. So just be grateful for that.
While 50 First Dates was met with mixed reviews at the time, it has since become a beloved outing in the unofficial Sandler/Barry more trilogy, which includes 1998’s The Wedding Singer and 2014’s Blended. But it’s hard not to wonder what the response would have been had the rom-com instead centered on the two actors in a dramatic romance set in Seattle…
Release Date February 13, 2004
Runtime 96
Writers George Wing
Tagline Imagine having to win over the girl of your dreams… every friggin’ day.
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