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Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson Starring: Adam Sandler, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Emily Watson, Luis Guzman The movies revolves around two sub-plots. Sandler calls a phone-sex line and, after giving them all his personal information, gets blackmailed and threatened by the woman operator. After refusing to give her any more money, her "pimp" sends a group of thugs to straighten Sandler out. The second plotline is the love story. One of his seven sisters tries to set him up with her friend and they become involved. The stories stay somewhat seperate until the end when he admits what happened and why he was being pursued. I have mixed feelings about the movie. I though Sandler did an outstanding job. His character has no self-confidence and has random outburst of anger, usually resulting in physical violence. The only problem I had with his character is that the outbursts seemed inconsistant to me. A girl asks him about his work and he destroys a bathroom. Someone robs him and he does nothing. It's like an Incredible Hulk that would only randomly get mad and transform. I also thought his love interest in the movie was amazingly quirky. Sandler has fits of rage, won't answer any questions about his work, and has a group of thugs after him, yet she finds him attractive and practically throws herself at him. But in their own way, their quirkiness is what bonds them together and they start to seem like a perfect fit in the end. The love story is obviously the focal point of the movie (the title duh), but I found myself more interested in the part about the phone-sex operator. I like the movie overall, but it felt like I had picked up a book about halfway through and had missed the first and last few chapters. My WTF moment: What the gently caress is up with the "piano" and the accident at the very beginning? He's just standing there and a cab stops, drops of a mini-piano in the street, and leaves. At the exact same time an SUV flips over and crashes in the street. He grabs the piano and runs away. WTF? RATING: 3 PROS: Great acting all around, good love story CONS: Somewhat confusing at times, irrational characters ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272338/
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Aug 4, 2004 09:13
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 13:36 |
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quote:ChesterJT came out of the closet to say: The piano thing, I can't remember the name, is just symbolic of Sandler's character and his life. When he finds it, it's a little broken and he has no idea what to do with it. He learns a little bit at a time, and by the end of the movie he's fixed it got a firm handhold on how to use it. I love this movie. I don't even know where to start with it, but it's one of my favorites, and one that I make all my poor friends watch.
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Aug 5, 2004 00:10
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This is one of my all time favorite movies. Yes, there are a lot of WTF moments, especially in the beginning, and the way the sound went from almost nothing to incredibly loud in an instant was disturbing and uncomfortable. However, much like the harmonium (piano thing) was an allegory for how Barry is in life, these screwed up, uncomfortable moments are supposed to convery how uncomfortable Barry is with everything. PT Anderson wanted the audience to be uncomfortable as his "hero" was. And the scene where he mauls the gently caress out of the Brothers with their own tire iron had my girlfriend and I rewinding and watching it repeatedly before going on.
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Aug 8, 2004 16:43
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This is the kind of movie I can't really think of how to defend or even quite place why i like it. But for some reason i absolutely love it. The whole movie has a definite atmosphere and feel to it that i love. It's definitely true that the movie is full of wtf moments but because the whole movie is so screwed up and about this screwed up thing it seems to fit. They really kind of make the movie what it is. Definitely not for everybody... but from my experience most people who liked it REALLY liked it. Maybe this is just me but the first time i saw it i watched it widescreen, i recently sat down to some of it on standard video and the difference was really noticeable. It seemed like a lot of the beauty of the cinematography was lost. And like... you missed things that were happening, like two people were talking and you couldn't see the face of one at all, it bothered me enough to stop watching. I would definitely say it's more important in this movie than most other movies, it seems there was a lot of time spent on the movie looking and sounding a certain way that i really enjoyed, you actually notice a difference from almost any other movie you've seen. Eapzy fucked around with this message at 07:56 on Aug 9, 2004 |
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Aug 9, 2004 07:53
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I like it simply as a counterpoint to romantic comedies that have inhumanly perfect characters whose single contrived flaws are the source of comedy. The characters in Punch Drunk Love fall for each other because they're both completely hosed up, resulting in all sorts of unexpected laughs. 4.5/5
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Aug 9, 2004 18:01
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This movie has the honor of being the only movie to almost get me beat up (it was a good natured joke, but still...). I recommended it to somebody who then saw it and came back telling me it was the second worst movie he ever saw. "What was the first?" I asked. "Mars Attacks" "That movie rules!" I quickly replied. "I wish I would have known you felt that way before I listened to you". This movie is simply my favorite movie of all time (with the possible exception of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which sometimes ties for first depending on my mood). I've said before that the quality I value above all others in movies is originality and this movie is as original as anything I've seen before or since. I literally had no idea what was going to happen from one scene to the next, I couldn't even fathom a guess, and that was liberating. I was just along for the ride, at the mercy of where the movie wanted to go. The score by Jon Brion (coincidently my all time favorite composer) is as quirky and odd as the movie itself, and one of the few scores out there where I can say it perfectly matched and meshed with the movie. When Barry got agitated and confused the score become louder and more random, making the audience slightly agitated and confused; when Barry calmed down the score became calm and serene. The cinematography was also great in it's hand-held, light-flooded way. It brought a surreality to the movie while dichotomously making everything seem more real by not using crane shots, too many dolly shots or things which normally put us in the cinematic frame of mind. All in all it was the perfect match for Barry, surreal and yet realistic. I also loved the acting in this movie. I've said it before and I'll say it again: people need to judge actors not on their previous projects but on their pure ability. And in this movie we see Adam Sandler has a lot of pure ability when it comes to acting. Of course Emily Watson, Seymour Phillip Hoffman and Luis Guzman where great, as always. What really struck me the most about this movie, though, was that I could recognize myself in Barry. The sudden angry outburst, the confusion and incompetence is every day tasks and life, the ham handed search for love; All of these seemed like they where pulled from my life (though, thankfully, in exaggerated form). I really can't explain it more than that, it just struck a chord. 5.5/5 -- One of my absolute favorites.
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Aug 10, 2004 04:13
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I couldn't really get into this movie. Some parts made me smirk, but I just wasn't feeling it. I gave it a 3 because it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It was just kinda meh. 3/5.5
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Aug 10, 2004 06:41
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5.5/5 There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with this film; in fact, it reaches too many new levels of excellence to be simply described as "a good film." "Punch-Drunk Love" demonstrates that a good film is not about being complex, anti-Hollywood, or whatever other pseudo-intellectsia. It is all about presentation. While complexity or originality can certainly be merits, they become crutches when they become gimmicks (e.g. "Memento" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"). There are too many good things about this movie...hell, I gave it an 5.5 out of 5, which is mathematically impossible. Go see the drat movie and if you don't like, then are a terrorist. This, is a contemporary masterpiece, and should be hailed as one of the finest cinematic achievements in history. Bravo. AFK fucked around with this message at 08:41 on Aug 26, 2004 |
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Aug 26, 2004 08:39
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3.5 from me. It was different, interesting, funny in parts, and visually appealing, but vastly over-rated. It was worth watching, but it didn't change my life or anything. I think Hard Eight and Boogie Nights are both superior movies from Anderson.
Hoka hey!
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Sep 2, 2004 09:28
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Great characters and casting. The story is quite engaging and you get attached to the protagonists. I think this film works well for Adam Sandler fans AND non-fans. But I don't think this film is for those who expect morals or clear explanation on every minute thing. 4.5
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Sep 2, 2004 13:21
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Excellent movie, one of my favorites too. Also,the punking of the Blonde brothersis one of the greatest payoffs in movies today, and it adds a little bit of typical Adam Sandler to the movie, which I like. edit-I like to misspell simple words like "bit"
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Sep 2, 2004 19:07
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Full disclosure: I hate Adam Sandler. Well, hate is strong, since I don't know him. So, the vast majority of Adam Sandler's movies make me want to hit him with a crowbar. I truly despised this movie. This was a film where I was acutely aware that if I had went outside and sat on the curb, I'd be having a better time AND would have saved $9.75. I didn't find one scene funny, found a high number unbelievable, and a smaller number actually painful to watch. I simply didn't believe the cross-country phone sex bullies. Ow, man, I just hurt my head thinking about this movie. I don't understand why I should find this character entertaining or compelling. It's because of movies like this that I sometimes wish studios would get more involved. So they could say, "Hey this is depressing and boring, you're fired." Philip Seymour Hoffman is great, but not in this movie. This movie made like $18MM and was an Adam Sandler, Paul Thomas Anderson movie. They combined probably made well in excess of that (though I suspect he took a pay cut from his usual $20-25 to make this). 1
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Sep 2, 2004 20:39
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quote:Furio came out of the closet to say: P.T. said this was the film to judge all other Sandler films by. He wanted to show that sort of character in a completely different want to give him new life. And I have to say he did. Granted, I am a complete loving sucker for anything P.T. does (I've seen everything but one thing he's done that's impossible to find) The first time I watched this movie, I thought it was alright, but everything just seemed to annoy me, the color shifts, the music, it made me on edge and just didn't jive with me. Then I watch it again. I get inside Barry Eagan's head, I understand that everything is done so that we experience life through him. It's not about his relationship, it's not about him and her finding each other, it's all about him and how he sees the world. The subtlties in this movie are amazing - Sandler's tie always matches Watson's dress. Everybody's always watching space related things, etc. and it all ties together and works. If you hated it the first time, try giving it another shot, it only gets better.
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Sep 5, 2004 07:31
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 13:36 |
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I really did not like this movie at all and found it very boring and pointless. I usually dont enjoy movies that have someone starring at a wall for half the movie and then ordering pudding to get more airline miles or seeing someone walk for 10 mins to pick up a piano in the middle of the street and walk back. I dont care how artistic and creative it is to have those scenes in a movie but it just isnt entertaining to me at all. I give this movie a 1/5
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Sep 13, 2004 10:19
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