Punch-Drunk Love

views updated

Punch-Drunk Love ★★★ 2002 (R)

Enjoy Adam Sandler's doofus americanus roles? Then don't put this on your “to see” list. Looking for a new twist on the romantic comedy featuring Adam Sandler's best performance to date? Here's your flick. Barry Egan (Sandler), owner of a novelty toiletplunger company, prone to sudden outbreaks of physical violence (mostly to glass doors and public bathrooms) serendipitously finds a woman (Watson) attracted to him. Amid the budding love stuff, Egan battles with a phone sex company's extortion attempts, and his discovery of a marketing mistake allowing him to obtain millions of frequent flyers miles for the price of some pudding cups (based on a true incident). Anderson arranges scenes like musical numbers, escalating sound and spectacle to a dizzying point, to good effect. 97m/C VHS, DVD . US Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzman, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Ashley Clark; D: Paul Thomas Anderson; W: Paul Thomas Anderson; C: Robert Elswit; M: Jon Brion.