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Punch-Drunk Love
Columbia/Tri-Star // R // October 18, 2002
List Price: Unknown
The Movie:
"Punch-Drunk Love" is the most bizarre film I've seen all year. Yet, like the hero, the film seems anixous, disorganized and even hot-tempered until that one moment where everything clicks, and it rights itself wonderfully. The film is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who discussed in interviews his desire to make a 90-minute romantic comedy after the lengthy - but remarkable - dramas "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia". The director stunned fans further when he announced the casting of both Adam Sandler and Emily Watson, who seemed about as comfortable a pair on-paper as oil and water.
The film stars Sandler as Barry Egan, a guy who makes a decent living selling customized toilet plungers out of a warehouse near Los Angeles. Barry also has no less than seven sisters, all of which make his life a living hell. Ever since childhood, he's had to put up with their constant taunts and criticisms. One of the sisters tries to set him up with her British friend Lena (Emily Watson) and although he seems disinterested, she persues him and eventually, the two start something of a relationship.
But, unfortunately for Barry, there are still issues that need to be dealt with - most noticably, his emotional problems. Barry is socially awkward to the extreme, not to mention prone to incredible outbursts of anger and even the occasional crying spell. The other issue would be the phone sex company in Provo, Utah trying to exort money from Barry. Both problems combined lead Barry to believe that a getaway is in order and he takes off for Hawaii, seeking Lena, who's there for a business trip. To try and get the airline miles, he takes advantage of a Healthy Choice promotion that gives 500 miles for every ten products purchased. As one might expect, trying to get to Hawaii involves a whole lot of pudding.
Many have called this Adam Sandler's best performance and I suppose it is, although Anderson has simply opened out the range of the usual Sandler characters. The darker moments of rage and more pure and unpleasant instead of silly and the lighter, dimmer side of the character seems - well, more dim. For some reason, I felt as if this character seemed like the off-screen version of one of Sandler's other characters, like Happy Gilmore, if they were real people. Watson's equally impressive here; although the reasons why she's falling for Barry seem awfully thin, she still manages to make the romance work unexpectedly well.
The film starts off rather irritating, as Jon Brion's percussion-heavy score seems to be nervously working away, doing its own thing on the soundtrack. The film's opening also seems a little too quirky for its own good. There's a nervous, caffinated energy at work that doesn't exactly work to draw one further in. You can't quite get a read on whether to be sympathetic to Barry or be terrified by him. Then Watson enters the picture and everything clicks and calms; Brion's score changes gears, the film has settled down enough to appreciate Robert Elswit's brilliant cinematography and enjoy Anderson's strong direction. Anderson also continues to use sound well, although there's still a few too many silence-to-chaos moments.
This is the point where I'll compare "Punch-Drunk" to other Anderson films and that's not a particularly easy task. "Punch-Drunk" is focused, offers fine performances and is technically impressive. However, parts of the plot are a little thin and it's just not quite as ambitious or memorable as Anderson's other three films. Those seeking out another Sandler picture along the lines of Sandler's usual films will likely be disapointed, but there will hopefully be some of those people who go in with an open mind at least trying to experience something different. And, quite honestly, even those who aren't looking for a Sandler film or dislike Sandler going in might strongly dislike this picture; it's an off-beat picture that not everyone will find something to like in. Still, I recommend it - it starts off rather unpromisingly, putting us into the chaos of the character's mind, but then it turns into an unusual and sincere love story that I thought worked well.
"Punch-Drunk Love" is the most bizarre film I've seen all year. Yet, like the hero, the film seems anixous, disorganized and even hot-tempered until that one moment where everything clicks, and it rights itself wonderfully. The film is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who discussed in interviews his desire to make a 90-minute romantic comedy after the lengthy - but remarkable - dramas "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia". The director stunned fans further when he announced the casting of both Adam Sandler and Emily Watson, who seemed about as comfortable a pair on-paper as oil and water.
The film stars Sandler as Barry Egan, a guy who makes a decent living selling customized toilet plungers out of a warehouse near Los Angeles. Barry also has no less than seven sisters, all of which make his life a living hell. Ever since childhood, he's had to put up with their constant taunts and criticisms. One of the sisters tries to set him up with her British friend Lena (Emily Watson) and although he seems disinterested, she persues him and eventually, the two start something of a relationship.
But, unfortunately for Barry, there are still issues that need to be dealt with - most noticably, his emotional problems. Barry is socially awkward to the extreme, not to mention prone to incredible outbursts of anger and even the occasional crying spell. The other issue would be the phone sex company in Provo, Utah trying to exort money from Barry. Both problems combined lead Barry to believe that a getaway is in order and he takes off for Hawaii, seeking Lena, who's there for a business trip. To try and get the airline miles, he takes advantage of a Healthy Choice promotion that gives 500 miles for every ten products purchased. As one might expect, trying to get to Hawaii involves a whole lot of pudding.
Many have called this Adam Sandler's best performance and I suppose it is, although Anderson has simply opened out the range of the usual Sandler characters. The darker moments of rage and more pure and unpleasant instead of silly and the lighter, dimmer side of the character seems - well, more dim. For some reason, I felt as if this character seemed like the off-screen version of one of Sandler's other characters, like Happy Gilmore, if they were real people. Watson's equally impressive here; although the reasons why she's falling for Barry seem awfully thin, she still manages to make the romance work unexpectedly well.
The film starts off rather irritating, as Jon Brion's percussion-heavy score seems to be nervously working away, doing its own thing on the soundtrack. The film's opening also seems a little too quirky for its own good. There's a nervous, caffinated energy at work that doesn't exactly work to draw one further in. You can't quite get a read on whether to be sympathetic to Barry or be terrified by him. Then Watson enters the picture and everything clicks and calms; Brion's score changes gears, the film has settled down enough to appreciate Robert Elswit's brilliant cinematography and enjoy Anderson's strong direction. Anderson also continues to use sound well, although there's still a few too many silence-to-chaos moments.
This is the point where I'll compare "Punch-Drunk" to other Anderson films and that's not a particularly easy task. "Punch-Drunk" is focused, offers fine performances and is technically impressive. However, parts of the plot are a little thin and it's just not quite as ambitious or memorable as Anderson's other three films. Those seeking out another Sandler picture along the lines of Sandler's usual films will likely be disapointed, but there will hopefully be some of those people who go in with an open mind at least trying to experience something different. And, quite honestly, even those who aren't looking for a Sandler film or dislike Sandler going in might strongly dislike this picture; it's an off-beat picture that not everyone will find something to like in. Still, I recommend it - it starts off rather unpromisingly, putting us into the chaos of the character's mind, but then it turns into an unusual and sincere love story that I thought worked well.
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