“Punch Drunk Love” (Columbia Pictures)
There is a new movie out called “Punch Drunk Love.” It stars Adam Sandler and is written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Anderson is the man who brought us “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia.” Like those two films, you will either love or hate this new movie. There is no in between – and odds are that most of you reading this review will hate it.
Sandler plays Barry Egan, an eccentric man who is dominated and hounded by his seven sisters. They hound him at work and they hound him at home. They pry into his personal life and make fun of his work. They are driving him crazy.
One day he meets a woman named Lena (Emily Watson). She sees the needy man in front of her and takes him to her heart. But their courtship is interrupted by a group of men who want to extort money from Egan due to his involvement with a phone sex organization.
The movie is full of quirky occurrences. There is a vehicle that crashes for no reason; a portable piano that gets dropped off in front of Barry’s place of work; sudden impulses to destroy property that come over Barry; and so on and so on. Some of it makes sense and some of it doesn’t, but all of it is interesting.
The movie is rated R for profanity and violence.
When you see a lot of movies you get to yearning for something different, and “Punch Drunk Love” is definitely different. Adam Sandler has never been better and Emily Watson will break your heart with her love for him.
This is definitely not a movie for everyone. Some will see it as silly and boring. Others will think it is too bizarre. But some will find it enchanting and unique. Put me in the latter category. I loved it!
I scored “Punch Drunk Love” a walloped 8 out of 10.
©2003 Jackie K. Cooper
