Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

So much average

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

While I personally cannot say in good faith that this is Paul Thomas Anderson's best film, it is the one that made me feel the most. I feel like this is a very personal film in an emotional way that PTA's other films like Boogie Nights and The Master can not compare to. It is the story of Barry Eagan, a lonely, awkward, and troubled man who meets the woman of his dreams. While nothing strictly impossible happens in the film, it does present itself as a kind of fantasy. Many unexplained (if not unexplainable) things occur in the film that may throw casual viewers off. The music is sweeping, and the dialogue feels grand. Barry is played by Adam Sandler, who gives one of the best performances of his career. He plays a sort of inverse of his usual Happy Madison charicatures. Barry is awkward, very strange, and has anger management problems. However, here I felt extreme pity for Sandler's character. I understand the feeling of being an outcast, and when Barry says sometimes he "cries for no reason" and begins crying right then, I found myself tearing up. I understand why someone might not react this way to this scene; they may even feel inclined to laugh. Punch-Drunk Love is the kind of movie you either get or you don't. I think I did.

(Flash Review)This is an unusual and uneven romantic tale about an unstable protagonist (Sandler) who lives a somber and solitary life until a woman enters the scene. For some unknown reason the female love interest is attracted to him and attempts to pierce his awkward outer shell while semi-surreal and dangerous incidents occur all around him, which also appears to increase her interest in him. The random incidents are interesting yet are difficult to fully tie back to the story or perhaps they are there to create a peculiar atmosphere. The other story lines are Sandler finds a sweepstakes loophole with a specific brand of pudding and after he buys an egregious amount of pudding packages, he tries to claim the prize immediately as well as him avoiding getting blackmailed a separate awkward incident. Will he be able to conquer his emotional baggage and his peculiar situations and open up for romance? Complimenting a quirky soundtrack, there was a running symbolic theme of telephones that is open to interpretation. It was an interesting and well- produced film with clunky pacing and perhaps a bit too vague for most people; great cinematography.

This film should serve as proof that PTA not only knows how to tell a small story but also knows how to write for specific people, creating characters that they were destined to play. Their lives had led to the moment in which they will be in a PTA film, in this particular case it was Adam Sandler. What a performance! Seriously. Many of those who have analyzed this film have stated that he's essentially taken the man- child he's typecast himself into and brought it into the real world. The world that has consequences and brings profound loneliness. Recommended to those who enjoy Sandler but want to see more range and also to anyone looking for a super weird rom-com.

My favorite film of all time. I saw this movie back in high school and it has only grown in my mind since. Every time I watch it I notice new layers. Such a beautiful movie about how, now matter who you are or how strange you may feel, there is always someone out there for you. No matter how doubtful or weak you may feel now, when you find the person you love, you will be filled with an inner strength you never knew you had. I made sure to pick up the Criterion blu-ray the day it was released and it was like seeing an entirely different movie. Just small moments of physical comedy happening in the background add so much to the whimsy and charm of this movie. If only Adam Sandler wasn't so desperate of populism, he could be doing interesting character work like this.