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Actors: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzman
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Punch-Drunk Love |
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PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE is a romantic comedy written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson in 2002. Anderson won the Best Director award at the 2002 Cannes Film festival with this movie.
Barry Egan has a problem with women. He's terribly shy and his seven sisters are not much of a help to him. His life will be turned upside down when he meets Lena Leonard, a young woman working with one of Barry's sisters. But before enjoying the perfect love, Barry must get rid of Philip Seymour Hoffman, the owner of a phone sex line who's blackmailing him since the day a lonely Barry called this line.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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Barry Egan (Adam Sandler) is a lonesome loser who wants to escape his warehouse job by collecting frequent flyer miles in a pudding promotion. He has intimacy issues thanks to his verbally abusive sisters, who still treat him like a little boy. He meets Lena (Emily Watson), who likes him instantly, but we're not sure why. Barry also gets mixed up with a vindictive businessman who wants to steal his money. Things start to look up for Barry when he jets off to Hawaii to be with Lena.
--Sean Stangland, Resident Scholar
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In 2002, writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, Boogie Nights) presented his off-center version of a screwball romantic comedy. Barry Egan (Sandler) is a lonely, depressed small business owner (he markets "Fungers" -- novelty toilet plungers) who hits on a scheme to collect Healthy Choice coupons to amass frequent flyer miles. Barry's seven sisters both deride him and try to fix him up with dates, and he alternates between timid hiding and bursts of manic violence. One night he calls a phone sex service out of curiousity, and not much comes of it for him, but the operators begin to hound him to extort money. At the same time he meets simple, lovely Lena Leonard (Watson), who really likes him and brings joy into his life. These two developments eventually collide, with goons sent out to beat some serious money out of Barry, and Barry running away to meet Lena on one of her business trips to Hawaii. Sandler and Watson turn in fine performances as the off-the-wall couple. The strange musical score by John Brion ticks and drips, as well as employing the Shelley Duvall song "He Needs Me" from the Altman movie "Popeye" (composed by Harry Nilssen). Not quite a masterpiece, but very engaging.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Punch-Drunk Love |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily
Yes
Time/era of movie:
- present (2000-2010)
Crime & Scandal
Yes
Story of
- criminals stealing from honest people
Kind of comedy
- romantic comedy
Blackmail & Seduction?
Yes
How much humor v. drama
- Lot of humor, but significant serious drama
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
- emotionally unstable
Hair color?
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- caring
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Dumb?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Dumb
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- blonde
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn straight
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- small businessman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
Hair color
- blonde
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) fat
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- West
- California
- Hawaii
City?
Yes
City:
- Los Angeles
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- all mixed up
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
Any profanity?
- Some foul language
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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