Punch-Drunk Love

2002
Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson
With Philip Seymour Hoffman

With the release of Click and Grandma's Boy, it's become official: Adam Sandler has as much artistic credential as that black dildo in The Departed.  Still, it wasn't that long ago that his performance in Punch-Drunk Love was unleashed upon America, forcing just about everyone who, in all honesty, really only liked Happy Gilmore, to admit that they were wrong when they'd heard the rumours about an upcoming "Adam Sandler project."  It was good, hell, it was brilliant stuff-from the music to Emily Watson, Punch-Drunk ended up being so well done that it's well nigh impossible to find a flaw.  It's a perfectly constructed film, with an excellent script and an exciting director.  At 93 minutes, the film can't help the fact that it's a bit lean, but after the monster length of Magnolia and Boogie Nights, PTA needed to pare down his scope a bit, just to remind us that he could.  It's been too long since he released anything, but if Spielberg is any indication (and he always is), maybe it's better that PTA doesn't maintain a regular release schedule.

Comments

[mr. rendon]

Do you think Sandler has given up on the "straight" roles since Spanglish was not well recieved? Or is it just easier for him to bank on the Mr. Deeds stuff?

[Squidhelmet]

I think bank has a bunch to do with it, but you can kind of see him making all the right choices but listening to all the wrong people. He became a producer to work with his friends and make more funny movies, but those were his most unfunny films! Terrible scripts and hordes of repetetive and rotten cameos. But when the combination is right (usually having to do with the director I think) he's able to hit the ball pretty well with comedy and drama.

I wonder if there's some sort of secret trick you could play on him that makes him do better - like tell him it's to act serious when it's a comedy and you'll get something hilarious!

I've been following this guy since his first comedy CD, and he's broken my heart many times, but it's stuff like Wedding Singer, Spanglish, and Punch-Drunk Love that keep me giving him another chance, even though that bastard took my ten bucks and made me watch Little Nicky.

[Justin Charles]

I, too, loved this film. I love pretty much anything by PT Anderson and I kind of like Adam Sandler before seeing this and gained a little bit of respect for him afterward. I'd love to hear more of what you think about PT and his filmography.