50 reasons why 50 First Dates is the worst

plus, my cafe au lait muffin recipe!

Just kidding, it's only 5 reasons.

note: Drew Barrymore is my queen and can do no wrong. My beef is with the movie itself.

The Wikipedia synopsis: “50 First Dates is a 2004 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Peter Segal and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore* with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Blake Clark, and Dan Aykroyd in supporting roles. It follows the story of Henry, a womanizing marine veterinarian who falls for an art teacher named Lucy.”

In case you haven’t, here’s the trailer:

TLDR: Adam Sandler’s character (Henry) falls in love with Drew Barrymore’s character (Lucy), who due to a car accident is unable to form new memories. Henry pursues a relationship with her despite the fact that every night when she sleeps her short-term memory is wiped and she wakes up with a blank slate that doesn’t include him.

OK first, this movie is very watchable. We’ve got beautiful scenery, a scene where a super powerful Lucy kicks a dude’s ass to protect a stranger (Henry), and the undeniable Barrymore/Sandler chemistry. So I’m truly sorry if this happens to be your favorite/comfort movie. But I can’t get these things out of my head:

1. Minor, but obvious: in what universe is an Adam Sandler character a successful womanizer?

2. Lucy refers to walrus penises as “winkies”

3. Some not great portrayals of and jokes about traumatic brain injuries/memory loss at the expense of people with those conditions.

4. Intense manipulation at every turn:

   1. At the diner Henry literally pretends that he can’t read to force Lucy to interact with him. Later, he tells her he likes making little structures out of waffles when actually she’s the one who likes that.

      

      this is very cool tho

   2. At one point during a date/makeout sesh (note: this is actually the first kiss/date for Lucy) he tries to cop a feel, and when she is like yo dude this is weird/too much, he says: “This is like the 23rd time we’ve made out already, and they’re getting blue”. They meaning Henry’s balls. He goes on, “Hawaiian law clearly states that after the 12th date I’m entitled to unlimited boob access”. They both laugh, but it’s not really funny. (Perpetual reminder that you are not responsible for anyone else’s orgasms or lack thereof).

5. And above all, the ending (skip if you don’t want spoilers!)

   1. How fucking terrifying would it be to wake up to a child that you don’t remember having, by a husband that you don’t remember meeting?? Oh, and you’re on a boat in the middle of nowhere!! That’s a horror movie ending, not a rom com one.

      

      ???

But I will say, the soundtrack slaps:

For cute chemistry with less weirdness I suggest the 1998 classic The Wedding Singer.

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some notable (and less notable) things

• If you're looking for more Substacks to read, I love

  Human Stuff from Lisa Olivera

• To aid in my lifelong journey of making excellent pasta from scratch, I’m cooking my way through the Pasta Grannies cookbook. Is there such a thing as a book club for recipes? Would any of y’all like to join one?

• This entire album:

• Thank you so much to everyone who answered the Venmo call for pro-abortion hero Aracely! I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to do together to support them and their family. I’ve notified the raffle winner (yay Tina!), but if you still need one of my tote bags for yourself here’s the link, or click:

  

• Quarterly reminder that I have a Parade discount code (thesweetfeminist) for 20% off. This full coverage yet extremely breathable style is now the only underwear I buy.

• I finished Shrinking this week (starring Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, and Harrison Ford), and I recommend it so highly. It’s a beautiful show with themes like grief, friendship, change, family, and general humanness.

• My poppies bloomed:

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a recipe

cafe au lait muffins

This is a simple recipe for moist and rich muffins flavored with coffee and allspice. They're best served warm, slathered in salted butter! The coffee flavor isn’t overwhelming, but it might make you daydream about sitting in your favorite chair at your favorite coffee shop, holding a warm cafe au lait in one of those comically wide mugs.

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weekly abortion affirmation

Shitty laws do not determine our fundamental right to bodily autonomy.

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my current fave pic of Otie

handsome

xoxo,

your favorite becca

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things that permanently live at the bottom of my posts:

Submit your secrets/sparkly moments here.

If you need help accessing abortion care, click here or here.

Grab a copy of my choose-your-own-adventure cookbook, Baking by Feel, here!