10 Insane Movies You Didn't Know Were Based On True Stories
5. 50 First Dates
We might think of it as a romantic comedy remake of Christopher Nolan's Memento, but this 2004 Drew Barrymore/Adam Sandler vehicle is another one which, believe it or not, has a basis in fact.
The film casts Barrymore as a woman suffering from anteretrograde amnesia, as a result of which she wakes up every morning with no recollection of the previous day. Naturally, this somewhat complicates her burgeoning romance with Sandler.
The story was reportedly inspired by the real-life case of Michelle Philpotts, a woman who suffered two serious brain injuries five years apart which left her unable to form new short-term memories. Reportedly she wakes up every morning thinking it's still 1994, to this day.
Obviously this is no laughing matter, so one might be confused as to how it ended up the subject of a romantic comedy. Yet there is a tender element to the true story, as Michelle's husband Ian has remained with her the whole time.
Of course, given Hollywood needs to glam things up, it's little wonder 50 First Dates sets the love story in Hawaii, rather than the Philpotts' native Lincolnshire.