Various Artists: 50 First Dates: 50 First Dates: Love Songs From The Original Motion Picture

To 50 First Dates star Adam Sandler and his crew, the pop music of the '80s isn't just nostalgia, it's escapism. Since Sandler and company were mostly teenagers during the heart of that decade, the era's music represents a fuzzy clutch of hope and freedom, dusted with sugary melody. So the premise for the 50 First Dates soundtrack–modern rock and soul acts performing '80s Europop hits in a light reggae style–is sort of sublime. Although the '80s angle is meant primarily to echo The Wedding Singer (the last movie that co-starred Sandler and Drew Barrymore), the kicked-back tropicality of reggae makes the soundtrack something like a digitally encoded vacation for listeners of the right age. Too bad the trip isn't smoother. The soundtrack's conception of the '80s includes college-rock favorites like The Cure and Echo & The Bunnymen, which means 50 First Dates features such affecting turns as 311's darkly funky version of "Love Song" and Seal's smooth, soulful updating of the pop classic "Lips Like Sugar." But the formula doesn't always bubble, and too many tracks are essentially lighter-rock versions of light rock, like Wayne Wonder's innocuous trip through Thompson Twins' "Hold Me Now" and the overly faithful (if slower and goofier) botches that are Mark McGrath's take on The Psychedelic Furs' "Ghost In You" and Jason Mraz's attempt at Modern English's "I Melt With You." Mostly, the project succeeds when the original songs are sketchy enough and catchy enough to bear remodeling, like Spandau Ballet's "True," which is nicely covered by Will.I.Am and Fergie. If nothing else, the soundtrack's existence may well be justified by Wyclef Jean's bouncy repurposing of The Outfield's "Your Love," which takes a junky old Top 40 anthem and makes it as charmingly kitschy as a Caribbean tourist trap.