Punch Drunk Love - Sandler actually impressed me
Written: Aug 31 '03 (Updated Aug 31 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Adam Sandler can actually play a serious role
Cons: some ignored sub-plots, but it's no big deal
The Bottom Line: Sandler doesn't act like a moron in this movie, he just plays one in real life
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| yankeessuck318's Full Review: Punch-Drunk Love |
Starring: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzman
Written and Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Running Time: approximately an hour and a half, give or take a minute
Rated: R
Adam Sandler's movies usually don't do it for me (except for The Wedding Singer). While I am one who finds him not funny, I felt obligated to see Punch Drunk Love, mainly due to my pal Moose, who recommended it. So without further ado, I now give you another classic movie review from yours truly.
The beginning of Punch Drunk Love starts with Barry Egan (Sandler) talking on the phone to a company representative discussing problems with a giveaway. Suddenly, he hears some noise outside and becomes alarmed and goes outside to see what it is. As he walks down the street to see what happened, a van goes by crashing and rolling over and over down the street. Then some sort of taxi van pulls up to the curb, a man opens the door, sets down a small piano on the ground, and then speeds on by. Here begins the weird world of Barry Egan.
This scene really makes no sense. All it does is give you a glimpse of Barry's not so ordinary life. Barry is the owner of a company that makes items you would use for your bathroom, i.e. some kind of weird plunger he sells. He is also a brother to seven sisters who constantly annoy him and put him down, in one scene referring to a time when they were younger and they used to call him "gay boy". And his priority goal is to buy as much pudding as he can in order to obtain free frequent flyer miles from packages on the pudding so that he can take a trip to Hawaii. Later in the movie, he ends up in Hawaii anyways just to see Lena.
In the next scene, we are introduced to Lena Leonard (Watson). Lena is interested in Barry and wants to get to know him better by dating him. When confronted by this woman, Barry is not sure how to act and doesn't say much. Barry is someone who is shy, awkward, insecure, cries for no apparent reason, and calls a phone sex line just to have someone to talk to. He's lonely and has his issues. However, he still manages to function in his day to day life, handling business at his job and getting through the day. However, Barry is unhappy and he knows it, but he doesn't know how to deal with his unhappiness. This is the story of a man who tries desperately to take control of his life and his one motivation is a woman. Lena really doesn't do much in the movie. She's here and there, popping up in scenes, not having many lines, just serving as a side item to an entree of Barry Egan's weird life. She knows very little about his life, yet manages to tolerate his weird nature and nevertheless, wants to be with him.
However, this is love and Barry and Lena both know that. No matter what circumstances Barry is dealing with at the moment, he feels he can get through anything because he has love in his life. One example being threatening calls from a phone sex operator trying to milk money out of him. As he states in the movie, " I have a love and it's given me more strength than you could ever imagine".
When I first heard that Adam Sandler was playing a dramatic role, I said there's no way he could ever pull that off. But, I was wrong. I never thought I would say this, but I couldn't imagine another actor playing this role as superb as Sandler did.
Remember the little piano? I really don't know the point of it or why Barry grows attached to it, or even why Paul Thomas Anderson included it in the movie. Maybe it was just to grab his audience's attention and to focus on the weird antics of Barry. Either way, it doesn't really matter at this point in the movie. Barry is in love and love conquers all. I am now happy to say that I have another favorite Sandler movie, besides The Wedding Singer. I highly recommend Punch Drunk Love, whether you are a Sandler fan or not. Trust me on this one.
Recommended:
Yes
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yankeessuck318
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Location: Long Island City, New York. USA
Reviews written: 24
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