#258: Punch-Drunk Love

Release Date: October 11th, 2002

Format: Criterion Collection on Blu-ray

Written by: P.T. Anderson

Directed by: P.T. Anderson

4 Stars

P.T. Anderson’s 2002 absurdist romantic comedy Punch-Drunk Love holds a special place in my heart. I remember seeing it three times in theaters back when I was just 19-years-old, twice with friends and once by myself 

Why did I connect so strongly with this strange little movie? I probably saw a lot of myself in the film’s protagonist, Barry Egon (Adam Sandler), a sensitive schmuck with very little understanding of his own feelings. My favorite scene in the movie is when Barry asks his brother-in-law for psychiatric help, to which he replies, “Barry, I’m a dentist.” Still, Barry asks, maybe you know someone who could help? The brother-in-law asks Barry what exactly is the problem? Barry responds, “I don’t know if there’s anything wrong with me, because I don’t know how other people are…sometimes I cry a lot…for no reason.” Then Barry starts convulsing, then sobbing, and then staggers off camera with his head in his hands.

It’s a heart-wrenching scene, and there were times as a young man that I felt that exact sentiment. 

Another reason why I was so excited to see Punch-Drunk Love back in 2002 was because I was a budding cinephile and here was my chance to see a P.T. Anderson flick in theaters for the first time. That was kind of a big deal for me, in the same way it was a big deal for me to watch Catch Me If You Can and The Aviator and Mystic River in theaters. I was starting to become aware of great American auteurs, Anderson especially. Unlike Spielberg, Scorsese, and Eastwood, Anderson felt so vibrant and youthful (he was 32-years-old when Punch-Drunk Love was released). I remember feeling this sense that he was my guy, the same way the boomer cinephiles probably felt about Spielberg with Jaws or Scorsese with Taxi Driver back in the ‘70s. 

It’s now been over twenty years since Punch-Drunk Love’s release, and I still get deeply moved watching it. It’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s full of magic. Kudos to Anderson for recognizing hidden layers to Adam Sandler’s comedic persona. He had always been a rageful man-child in his fun but dopey ‘90s comedies, but Anderson correctly perceived some real pathos buried under there. 

Opposite Sandler’s Barry Egan is Emily Watson’s character, Lena. If he is scared, fragile, and volatile, she is gentle, patient, and quietly confident. What’s in it for her, you might ask, dating this dope in a blue suit? Good question, and it’s one that only she can answer. As she tells Barry, she saw a picture of him at his sister’s place and knew that she just had to meet him. We learn later in the film that she’s been divorced, and you can sense some hurt behind her blue eyes. For Lena, maybe this Barry Egan is just the right guy to protect her heart, if only she can just get him to believe in himself.

It’s just a lovely film, a story of star-crossed lovers who are brought together by an abandoned harmonium, pudding, and phone sex operators. 

How romantic.