While most people remember 50 First Dates as the second movie Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore made together, many (including myself) forget that SNL alum Maya Rudolph had a small part in the rom-com. Released in 2004, 50 First Dates was a hit with audiences, and the film about a commitment-phobe marine veterinarian (Sandler) falling in love with a plucky woman who has amnesia (Barrymore) grossed almost $200 million at the worldwide box office (via Box Office Mojo). But while many audiences loved it, I found the movie cringy, particularly its jokes at the androgynous Alexa’s (Lusia Strauss) expense, and blocked most of it out.

This is likely why I forgot that Maya Rudolph was a member of the 50 First Dates cast. I’ve been a fan of Rudolph since her Saturday Night Live days, having watched every sketch from “Sweater Weather” to her impersonations of Donatella Versace. I’m not surprised that Rudolph has continued to be a comedy icon in her post-SNL career, having famously played Kristen Wiig’s best friend and bride-to-bed in Bridesmaids and the voice of Connie the Hormone Monstress in Big Mouth, to name a couple of my favorites. But who was she in 50 First Dates?

Maya Rudolph Plays Stacy In 50 First Dates

Stacy Is One Of Lucy’s Friends In The Beach Party Scene

A major reason why many 50 First Dates viewers forget Maya Rudolph was in the movie is because her part is very small. Rudolph plays Stacy, a friend of Lucy’s, who only appears in the beach party scene. At this point in the movie, Henry has told Lucy about her amnesia, and she starts each day with a video he made explaining her situation. Despite some shock, she is able to break from her past monotonous daily routine as she and Henry start living life to the fullest. This brings them to a beach party where Lucy reconnects with her old friends from prior to the accident.

One of those friends is Rudolph’s Stacy, who is visibly pregnant. She’s there with her schmoe husband, whom she’s less than with, as she compares Henry’s daily romantic gestures for Lucy to her spouse who doesn’t “even open the f***ing car door for me anymore.” Other than getting the PG-13 movie’s one F-bomb, it’s a fairly forgettable role for the normally memorable Rudolph.

Rudolph Was Bummed Filming For 50 First Dates Didn’t Film In Hawaii

The Aloha State Has Always Eluded Rudolph

While I wasn’t charmed by 50 First Dates, to say the least, I can’t say the same for the film’s setting. 50 First Dates is essentially a love letter to the Aloha State, and I got much more lost in its sun-dappled beaches and verdant mountains than the plot. Interestingly, not all filming for 50 First Dates took place in Hawaii, much to Maya Rudolph’s disappointment. Rudolph reunited with her 50 First Dates co-star on The Drew Barrymore Show, and shared that not only was her scene sH๏τ in Malibu, but the actress has never had the opportunity to film in Hawaii.

Rudolph went on to say that most of her projects that take place in Hawaii are actually filmed in Malibu, and while she means no disrespect to the California city, “It’s not Hawaii.” Barrymore pointed out that Rudolph’s Apple TV+ show Loot, which will be going into its third season, takes place in Malibu, so perhaps it’s Rudolph’s destiny to forever film there. However, Barrymore did have an excellent suggestion for getting Rudolph to the Aloha State:

“Maybe Kristen Wiig could write a movie and we all are in it together, and it films in Hawaii.”

Kristen Wiig, of course, is the Oscar-nominated writer of Bridesmaids, which we’ve mentioned Rudolph stars in. Moreover, Wiig and her writing partner Annie Mumolo’s followup script was the criminally underrated Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, in which they star as the тιтular protagonists. These talented women have proven they know how to write an effective vacation comedy, and seeing them whoop it up in Hawaii with Drew Barrymore and Maya Rudolph is too tempting to resist. I, for one, would certainly enjoy it more than 50 First Dates.