"Punch Drunk Love" has scandals, big bullies, phone sex, talk of sadism, and a good deal of Adam Sandler screaming. It also may be the most joyous film to come along this year. You'll notice what I've said in the past two sentences contradict each other enormously. P.T. Anderson is the ideal director to bring something like a love story and all else that I have described together, and the result of this fusion is a tremendous success.
Barry Egan (Adam Sandler) is an owner of a small business that makes toilet plungers. He has seven sisters, each who bug him all the time, like when they all call within minutes of each other to remind Barry to come to a birthday party. Barry has found a flaw in a Healthy Choice promotion that says that for every ten of their products bought, they will grant 500 frequent flyer miles. Barry sees that he can buy their pudding, at 25 cents each, and get frequent flyer miles for far below their worth.
Get comfortable; it goes on. One day, a few random occurrences happen: first, a harmonium is dropped in front of Barry's office door as a car is about to crash. Barry takes the harmonium into his office and fixes it up. Secondly, one of Barry's sisters knows someone who would very much like to meet him, Lena Leonard (Emily Watson), who is really secretly in love with him. That night, Barry tries a phone sex company, and the next morning the operator who he talked to threatens and blackmails him for money. Did you get all that?
With all of this madness running amuck in "Punch Drunk Love", one would never expect it to make as much sense as it does. But P.T. Anderson somehow brings it all together. It never all makes complete sense, but it is always coherent. "Punch Drunk Love" lives in its own world and follows its own rules, and we enjoy it that much more for that.
When discussing the thematic elements in "Punch Drunk Love", one could easily say that its about pent up frustrations and dealing with them, or being forced to deal with them; and in a sense, that's what it is. But in truth, "Punch Drunk Love" is true to its title: it's a celebration of love; of unexpected love and of love with no strings attached. It has an innocent quality to it that touches one's inner child; something that left me on a high for the rest of the day after I saw it. It believes in the strength that love gives; that no matter how cliched it sounds, love can conquer all, and love can win out in the end. And somehow, Anderson makes all of this rise to the surface in a new, fresh way that keeps us invigorated throughout the film.
Now, I'm not entirely sure why everyone is so surprised that Adam Sandler can give such a good performance as he does here. I have always believed that any good comedy (yes, many of Sandler's films top my guilty pleasures list) is much harder to do than any sort of drama. One can wring tears out of the audience thousands of different ways, but to get a laugh, one must always have something new at ready, or it's a bust. This is, indeed, Sandler's most convincing and believable performance, but I am not shocked in the least bit. Emily Watson also gives a wonderful performance, beaming all the way and helping the film remain at the jubilant level that Anderson creates so well.
Saying P.T. Anderson is an up and coming talent is like saying Jim Henson was good with puppets. He can create something out of madness, and isn't that what all good filmmakers do? "Punch Drunk Love" is a wonderful film full of life. And it makes more sense than you'd think.
