Back to kcaB: Drew & Adam

The title of this Conversation is a misnomer. It should instead be "side by side" and/or "face-to-face" because throughout the 10-minute Conversation, Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler were facing each other, seldom facing you and/or the camera, as they sat side by side inside one of the tents put up by Columbia Pictures on a beach in Honolulu for the press junket of its romantic-comedy offering, 50 First Dates.

It’s the second movie together of Drew and Adam who first teamed up a few years ago in another smash-hit romance-comedy called The Wedding Singer. In this one, Adam plays arctic marine life veterinarian Henry Roth who occupies his time skirt-chasing when he’s not busy tending to sea animals (dolphins among them) at Sea Life Park in Hawaii. Drew plays Lucy, a high-school art teacher afflicted with a unique neurological disorder that causes her memory to be erased overnight.

Now you know why the movie is so titled. When Henry meets Lucy, he gets so badly smitten that he relentlessly pursues her. One problem: Lucy doesn’t remember talking or meeting Henry the day or night before so Henry has to court her again and again, as if every date is their first date.

The choice of Hawaii as venue for the movie’s press junket was perfect because 50 First Dates was filmed almost entirely in that blue paradise. Drew came fresh from the box-office success of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle which she herself produced and starred in (with Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu, also her co-stars in the first Charlie’s Angels); and Adam from, among his other recent films, Anger Management (with Jack Nicholson as co-star, playing an anger-management specialist) where he played a man who blows his top at the slightest provocation.

When I came face-to-face with them, I half-expected Adam to, yes, blow his top. Luckily, he didn’t. He was, in fact, very nice and very friendly. He offered a handshake with a wide smile. When he mentioned that Rob Schneider, who’s half-Filipino, was, as if I didn’t know, in the 50 First Dates cast and I told him that I came from the Philippines like Rob (who was with Adam on Saturday Night Live), Adam wondered, "You’re not named Baby, are you?"

I thought he was kidding (with a poker face), so I said, "Well, I used to be when I was small."

Adam said, "Oh, you see, I know a lot of people from the Philippines and most of them are called Baby."

Oh, I see!

Drew was watching with undisguised curiosity all the while. I told her, "I chanced upon you at a Chinese restaurant in Hollywood in October last year and I even talked to you. You were accommodating, very nice to us."

Then, I handed her a copy of The STAR where I wrote about that surprise and very welcome encounter. She browsed through it and smiled. "Is this for me?" By all means, I told her. "Thank you." She smiled again.

What a nice couple they were! They made you feel at ease at once. We breezed through the Conversation like old friends, even if, as I was saying, Drew and Adam were constantly facing each other, gently elbowing each other and planning aloud which restaurant they were going to dine in that night.

Here are excerpts:

Do you by any chance remember your first date?

Drew: Let’s see...I don’t remember when my first date was but I remember my first kiss. It was in school play, Sleeping Beauty, the first play I ever did. I was sleeping and my Prince Charming came to kiss me. And then I woke up! It was a very fast and very light kiss. I hardly felt it! It was kind of weird, though.

Adam: I’ve been dating so many women that I don’t remember the first one. It has been a long, long time ago! My first kiss? I’ve also kissed so many women that I don’t remember who the first one was. Will she please raise her hand if she’s out there?

You had fun doing The Wedding Singer, I’m sure!

Drew: Oh, it was fun! I had the best time of my life doing The Wedding Singer. You know, when I’m having a hard day or need to escape outside of my brain, there are certain types of movies that make me feel happy, among them those of Adam’s.

Oh, so you watch Adam’s movies. All of them?

Drew: All of them! All the time. Good movies are like medicine. To me, Adam’s movies are like a beautiful medicine.

How was it working together again after six years?

Drew: Oh, great! I believed with all my heart that Adam and I were destined to do this movie. But even if I believe in fate and destiny, I also feel that you have to push things through the channels of the universe.

What do you mean?

Drew: When I read the script, I fell in love with it. I learned, however, that Adam’s company, Happy Madison, was going to make it so my company (Flower Films) began a campaign to become involved in it. So when I ran into Jack Giarraputo (one of the producers of 50 First Dates), I mentioned to him how much I loved the story. Then, we sat down and wrote Adam a letter. That’s how the project started.

What attracted you to the script?

Drew: I thought that the story about a man who has to make his girl fall in love with him every day as if each day is new – because in her world it is – was the best thing I’d ever heard of. I just love the idea of someone trying to make somebody fall in love with you every day. I think that should always be a goal. It’s a beautiful practice and a beautiful message.

What do you look for in a date?

Drew: Oh, sense of humor – definitely! I hate ‘heavy’ dates. I prefer ‘light’ ones, you know, where the both of you are laughing and laughing. It feels good. I’m a sucker for humor.

No wonder you enjoy working with Adam, an eternally funny man.

Drew: I feel happiest when I’m in an atmosphere with a lot of laughter and Adam can always make me laugh. It’s exciting to make a romantic love story with someone you truly think is the greatest person in the world. I don’t think chemistry is something you can fake – and if you have to, it’s a bummer. I think the audience can smell and sense it.

Obviously, you love doing movies. After all, you’ve been doing it since you were that high. A veteran of more than 30 films.

Drew: There’s no place I’d rather be than on a movie set, either as an actor or producer, or both. I’m so lucky! Not only am I in a profession that I chose – which is already a gift – but I’m working on a particular endeavor with a person I really love. There’s nothing like waking up every morning looking forward to going to work.

What about you, Adam?

Adam: What about me?

How is it working with Drew?

Adam: Wonderful! We just love each other!

Was 50 First Dates a relief after doing rugged action in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle?

Drew: Oh, it is, it is! 50 First Dates is very different from Charlie’s Angels. In Charlie’s Angels, we had to do action in tight outfits. In 50 First Dates, I hardly did any action scenes at all.

Are you particular about what you wear in a movie?

Drew: I’m normally very methodical about what I wear. I choose my costumes for each scene in advance. But with 50 First Dates, I got caught up in this cycle of Lucy’s lack of knowledge about what day it was. I didn’t want to be so prepared because she wasn’t prepared. With all my characters, I’m used to having a lot of change and growth and evolution.

Oh, is that so?

Drew: For example, I almost always wear flat shoes in the beginning of a film and I eventually grow to taller shoes because it changes my height, your demeanor. It changes your level of eye contact with people. I try to change my hair as the story moves along to show growth. With Lucy, it was interesting because she is so stuck in a particular moment in time. I spend most of this film in white pants and pink T-shirt and slippers, which is what the Hawaiians call flip-flops.

Did you train with dolphins before shooting this movie?

Adam: I trained a little bit and I got to know them.

Do you love animals? Any pet at home?

Adam: Oh, yes, I have a couple of dogs – but not a dolphin.

And you, Drew?

Drew: I have three dogs.

I wonder, in real life, Drew, have you been pursued by a man you didn’t like?

Drew: Well, I can’t remember any such incident.

How would you deal with it if it does happen?

Drew: Oh, I just hope it doesn’t happen because it can be bothersome.

What if the guy happens to look like Adam?

Drew: I’ll have to think hard about it. Maybe he doesn’t even have to pursue me. I would pursue him!

And you, Adam, have you ever been rejected by a girl you liked so much?

Adam: Not really. I never had that experience. Never had.

Okay, what’s your idea of a perfect date?

Drew: Six packs, beach dogs.

And you, Adam?

Adam: Six packs, beach dogs!