I was over at my sorta-girlfriend's house tonight, and she had just received "Punch Drunk Love" in the mail from Netflix. I had read some positive reviews of this movie, and anyway I'm a big Adam Sandler fan, so we decided to give it a try (also, it was more promising than the tripe her toddler son was watching; something about talking vegetables...).
I gotta say, it was good. Kooky, but good. The opening scene seems like a dream sequence, but it isn't. This poor guy's life really is this surreal.
Without giving too much away, Sandler plays a wacko with social problems who has to deal with not only his evil sisters (seven of them!) but an unsavory phone-sex company. Through it all, he courts a lady who is inexplicably attracted to him.
And that is the only flaw in this movie. Sandler plays the perfect loon, but I am still at a loss as to why this woman is interested in him. I can't count the number of times/ways he humiliates himself in front of her, yet this seems to increase her interest more than decrease it. Not terribly realistic, but fun to watch progress.
Overall, it's low-budget, but this film certainly gets more bang for its buck than, say, "Hulk." (NOTE: I watched "Hulk" recently and may soon reivew it, but no promises...)
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
First of all, those "talking vegetables" movies are sometimes pretty darn good. :)
Secondly, I know many women who are inexplicably drawn to the worst losers mankind has to offer. This doesn't sound like a stetch to me, but rather more realistic than most movies.
I almost rented this the other night, but came home with Old School and 8 Mile instead. Considering how amazingly unfunny Old School was, it sounds like I made the wrong choice. Er, my wife did, that is.
2 - Jim Carruthers
"Punch Drunk Love" is the third film from P. T. Anderson, following on "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia".
In casting Adam Sandler as Barry Egan, he again gets an amazing performance and character out of an unlikely performer (eg Burt Reynolds as Jack Horner in "Boogie Nights" and Tom Cruise as Frank "T.J." Mackey in "Magnolia").
If you liked these two films, then you know what to expect with "Punch Drunk Love".
If you don't know Anderson's movies, and are going for the Sandler, then you will probably be disappointed. Though Barry Egan is an Adam Sandler character, as though he was a real person, that is, deeply disturbed and profoundly angry. And funny, but not "hah-hah" funny.
As a plus, the soundtrack score is amazing (including a song from Robert Altman's "Popeye").
3 - Murphy Horner
the percieved unrealisticness of the female still digging the loser guy after him proving he's a loser is...
another demonstration of how men totally misunderstand what attracts women.
Of course, I have no idea what women want either.
4 - RJ Elliott
Phillip:
Hey, I can appreciate talking foodstuffs as much as the next guy. However, it's been literally years since I've dropped acid. So I think such fare is currently out of my depth... ;-)
As for women being attracted to losers, well I guess it depends on what the definition of "loser" is. If you mean the chronically unemployed local druggie with all the piercings and the ink-work and the bastard children, then yes, women certainly do seem drawn to that type.
However, Sandler plays a different type of loser, the clean-cut, shy, socially-inept, foot-in-mouth nice-guy who just wants to be loved and treated well and respected, and cries all the time because he isn't. And last I checked, women weren't exactly soiling their panties over that masculine phenotype...
Jim:
You wrote a better review of the film in the comments section than I did in the main post! Geez, man, do you bang the bride on your best friend's wedding night? ;-)
As for the soundtrack, I can only say it was, like the film, surreal and kooky. And I can appreciate that kind of music. However, as I believe I mentioned, it's been literally years since I've dropped acid...
Murphy:
I don't have a clue what women want either. Other than 9 inches, a six-pack of abs, and a six-figure income. Wait a sec... ;-)
5 - Tom Johnson
None of you can see what she sees in him? Really? She sees herself. She's just like him, but in a feminine way. I never even thought that there were any questions why these two should be together. If you didn't notice, she's a bit "off" herself.
Definitely my favorite movie from last year. And Magnolia, PTA's previous film, was my favorite movie from that year. The guy's astounding. Can't wait to see what's next . . .
6 - Phillip Winn
I still haven't actually seen the film, but now between RJ and Jim, I'll rent it this weekend. Boogie Nights bored me, and I haven't seen Magnolia yet, so I guess I really won't know what to expect, but I like that.
7 - Chris
Actually, Punch Drunk Love is the 4th film from P.T.
Hard Eight is the first one is well worth the time and effort it might take to find it at the video store.
8 - visualsimplicity
Magnolia was an incredible movie. Tom Cruise should have deserved the oscar that year over the ether-sniffing Michael Caine character (though Cider House Rules was an equally good movie).
9 - Jim Carruthers
Philip, re: "Punch Drunk Love", y'know how in "Heat" they made such a big deal about DeNiro and Pachino appearing together in the same scene?
Well, in PDL, you get Philip Seymour Hoffman confronting Adam Sandler face to face.
Now, that's acting. Because you don't think Sandler can do it, but he does.
Plus I recomend "Magnolia", though I couldn't begin to describe what it is about, except a great Aimee Mann song.
Plus, if you haven't seen it, Robert Altman's "Popeye".
10 - Jim Carruthers
Geez, man, do you bang the bride on your best friend's wedding night? ;-)
Generally every chance I can get, but it depends on who the wedding singer is, to y'know, set the mood.
11 - Phillip Winn
Heat is very nice. Popeye is, well, odd, but nice. I really like PSH, so I'll pick up this movie when I return 8 Mile in a day or two. I want to watch the freestyling a couple of more times. :)