Summary

• 50 First Dates was originally set in Seattle with a sadder ending.
• The ending portrays a tragic situation disguised as a happy ending.
• The original ending would have fixed issues of agency and prompted a positive discussion.

50 First Dates has become one of Adam Sandler’s most popular rom-coms, but its original plan had a completely different ending that, although sadder, would have been much better. Six years after their first collaboration in The Wedding Singer, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore teamed up again to star in 50 First Dates. Despite getting mixed reviews, 50 First Dates was a box-office success and has gotten different remakes, and although it has some big flaws, it’s one of the most popular Adam Sandler rom-coms.

50 First Dates took the audience to Oahu, Hawaii, to meet Henry Roth (Sandler), a marine veterinarian who avoids commitment. One day, he meets Lucy Whitmore (Barrymore), an art teacher with whom he quickly bonds. However, he learns Lucy had an accident the year before and now has anterograde amnesia, meaning she re everything up until the night before the accident but nothing after that. Henry goes to lengths to make their relationship work, and though 50 First Dates has a hopeful ending, the original one would have been sadder, but better.

50 First Dates Originally Had A Different Setting & Ending

50 First Dates Wasn’t Always A Rom-Com In Hawaii

Originally, 50 First Dates was a drama set in Seattle.

50 First Dates’ original plan was very different in tone, setting, and more. The movie is now known as a rom-com set in Hawaii with a hopeful yet controversial ending, but the original plan took the story somewhere else. Speaking to Drew Barrymore shared that the original ending of 50 First Dates (then called 50 First Kisses) has stuck with her. Originally, 50 First Dates was a drama set in Seattle, but it was changed to Hawaii thanks to Sandler, who made various changes to the initial script, including many scenes at the café (via EW).

Barrymore explained the original ending for 50 First Dates, sharing that it saw Lucy telling Henry to go and live his life because “this is no life here”. Henry went away and came back, walked into the restaurant, sat down, said “Hi, I’m Henry”, and that was it. It’s unclear how long it would have been between Henry leaving and his return and if there was a trip involved like in the final version of the movie, but although the original ending would have been sadder, it would have been a lot better.

Henry found himself in a very complex situation when he fell in love with Lucy, as it wasn’t just that he pretty much had to introduce himself every day and hope she would fall in love with him in one day, but he wasn’t giving Lucy much choice. Lucy had even moved on with her life and was teaching art at the hospital when Henry returned as he thought she might him, and they got back together.

The original ending would have meant that they wouldn't have gotten back but Lucy would have moved on the best way she could given her condition and without going through the shock of watching a video of a life she doesn't every morning, while Henry would have also moved on and carried on with his own plans.

50 First Dates’ Ending Is Actually Tragic

50 First Dates’ Ending Is Disguised As A Happy One

Lucy's condition was going to bring lots of obstacles in her life, but encouraging Henry to move on and him really doing so would have been more beneficial for both.

Lucy's condition doesn't leave any room for a truly happy ending for her and Henry, and the ending of 50 First Dates is a tragic one disguised as a happy one. As mentioned above, Lucy and Henry got back together and they traveled together on Henry's boat (with Lucy's father) and formed a family. To make their relationship work, Henry continued making videos for Lucy recapping their relationship for her to watch every morning, but there’s a lot to unpack in this “happy” ending.

There was a time when Lucy woke up to find herself pregnant all of a sudden, and surely not all days were good ones for her even after watching the daily video. There’s also how Lucy's condition affected her and Henry's daughter, who had to introduce herself to her own mother every day. Lucy's condition was going to bring lots of obstacles in her life, but encouraging Henry to move on and him really doing so would have been more beneficial for both.

How 50 First Dates’ Original Ending Would Have Changed The Movie’s Legacy

50 First Dates Would Have Fixed A Couple Of Problems

It feels like Lucy was stripped of all her agency and now had to spend her days with a man she doesn't and on a boat far away from her home.

The ending of 50 First Dates has been endlessly criticized for everything Lucy had to go through every day after she and Henry got back together. The ending has been labeled as “creepy” by many viewers over the years as it does feel like Lucy was stripped of all her agency and now had to spend her days with a man she doesn't and on a boat far away from her home.

The original ending would have fixed this by giving her a chance to move on in the best way for her, while Henry learned a much-needed lesson about how to treat women and what he really wanted in his life. 50 First Dates would have still been popular with its original ending and would have prompted a more positive conversation about it.

Sources: Variety, EW.