Punch Drunk Love

"Punch-Drunk Love" is a marvellous romantic comedy with also a scent of drama in it. The main character is Barry Egan (Adam Sandler), who's what we'd call "a man on the edge". He has been terribly scarred (perhaps irreparably) by as many as seven sisters, who left him with no self-confidence, relations, or in fact any interest in life. He also has frequent sudden outbursts of violence, down to the same factor again. When his loneliness becomes unbearable he calls a sex-line (the way he responds to the woman's indiscreet questions is absolutely hilarious), but there he's not treated any better either, as he finds himself blackmailed for money by the owners of the line. The only interest Barry has is to buy pudding massively, hoping to exploit a promotion loophole and get enough air miles for the rest of his life- and perhaps he also hopes that he will then fly away of his problems. His life however is about to change when he meets Lena (Emily Watson), who's equally lonely and probably been hurt too (but can control it). There seems to be a sparkle between them, but love is uncharted territory for Barry and it is in fact Lena that has to pull him to a date. Well, the one way or the other the start has been made and although Barry is strange, things are now on the right path as they are definitely made for each other. Lena is the first person ever to take Barry at face value, and eventually she comes to a stage where she understands him better than anyone ever had. Love also empowers Barry to overcome all the obstacles that have come in his way and through his devotion to Lena he manages to save himself. Punch drunk love is a very funny, touching and romantic film, and with plenty of humorous fiascos along the way it successfully delivers a heart-warming tale of finding love when you need it the most.

Rotten Tomatoes Score:

79%

Genre:

Comedy, Drama, Romance

Writer:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Directors:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Leads:

Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzmán, Jason Andrews

Music:

Jon Brion

Length:

95 minutes

Year:

2002

Country:

USA

Language:

English

15

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