Barry (Adam Sandler) is a sales director for a novelty toilet plunger manufacturer. He has a sister, Elizabeth (Mary Lynn Rajskub), who is trying to fix him up with her co-worker Lena (Emily Watson). Watson reprises her shy role in "Red Dragon," where she is drawn to a romantic relationship with a man who can, kindly, be called an oddball. Apparently, Barry's childhood, and now his adult life, is traumatized by seven sisters, who each appear to have issues of their own. Add this to his skittish behavior and introverted personality, which manifests as outbursts of violent rage at the strangest times. At a party he explodes and kicks out a sliding glass door apparently because he is uncomfortable in the social setting.
His relationship with Lena takes on an added dimension when she is injured by hooligan minions of con-man, Dean (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Dean owns a telephone sex service that obtains Barry's home address, credit card and social security information and uses it to extort money from him. When Barry resists, he becomes a marked man.
Having an anal nature with great attention to detail, Barry discovers a misprint when reading a promotion from Healthy Choice foods, one of the most creative ad placements ever. If he buys $3,000 worth of pudding, he can get one million frequent flyer miles. That's enough to fly anywhere he wants for many years to come. When Lena goes on a business trip to Hawaii, Barry decides to use his miles to take a break from work and his phone sex extortionists, and he joins her.
For both Adam Sandler and director Paul Thomas Anderson, "Punch-Drunk Love" is a major departure from their prior films. Sandler is quirky, in the way of other characters with arrested development, in films like "Chuck & Buck," "Secretary," "Ghost World" and "Heaven." These characters are grown men who might get their sexual fulfillment from phone sex lines. Anderson's previous films tend to be 2-3 hours, and on the far out side of artistic. Although this one is only 89 minutes, it is targeted for the art house crowd rather than those looking for the traditional Hollywood plot formulas. This is indeed a departure from his prior films like "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia."
"Punch-Drunk Love" is a love story that is also a weirdo comedy. There is action but it's not slapstick. The common thread with this movie and the aforementioned films is that anyone with a little luck and determination can find that special someone in their life. "Heaven" and "Secretary" are still playing at theaters in Chicago. "Chuck & Buck" and "Ghost World" can be viewed on video. We enjoyed this film, but we don't see it as the award winner for best director at Cannes. Although we love art house films, it appears we may have some growing to do. One of these days, when we make it to Cannes, we'll let you know if we or they are all wet.
Soundtrack
Punch Drunk Love Soundtrack
DVD