Veronica Phillips

April 10^th, 2016

Humor – 50 First Dates

Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts and keeps friends. It lightens human burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment.

-Grenville Kleiser

Humor is a drug that brings laughter into any type of environment weather its professional, social, or personal. Having a sense of humor shows what type of individual you are as well as how you are able to connect with others around you in various settings while even decreasing various conflict situations. Humor is something everyone is able to connect through no matter what race, sex, or opinion you value. If someone gives off some sort of humor those around him or her are able to connect through that humor no matter if it is given in a negative or positive way.

In the movie 50 First Dates starting Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore humor is shown throughout the film by using self-enhancing humor. Although Drew Barrymore is shown as a character that lost her memory due to a car crash and is not able to remember what happens day after day, Adam Sandler uses a sense of self-enhancing humor to find the amusement through the challenges she face daily. By using self-enhancing humor throughout this film, Sandler and Barrymore are able to connect on a level of which she thought she would never have a chance to connect on due to her condition. By using self-enhancing humor to build a relationship they are able to find the love out of life and within each other rather than to focus on the trials she face.    

Another type of humor that these characters are also able to connect through is affiliative humor. In order to build a relationship with Barrymore, Sandler had to connect with her positively. By using affiliative humor to establish a relationship, Barrymore was able to notice the personality as well as the sense of humor Sandler has. When using this type of humor in this film Sandler came off as very welcoming and approachable which lead to creating a shared positive experience with Barrymore.

Using both self-enhancing and affiliative humor throughout this film allowed the characters to connect with each other as well as the viewers.