Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

A psychologically troubled novelty supplier is nudged towards a romance with an English woman, all the while being extorted by a phone-sex line run by a crooked mattress salesman, and purchasing stunning amounts of pudding.

Director:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Writer:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Stars:

Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 14 wins & 36 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adam Sandler	...	Barry Egan
Jason Andrews	...	Operator Carter (voice)
Don McManus	...	Plastic (voice)
Emily Watson	...	Lena Leonard
Luis Guzmán	...	Lance
David Schrempf	...	Customer #1
Seann Conway	...	Customer #2
Rico Bueno	...	Rico
Hazel Mailloux	...	Rhonda
Karen Kilgariff	...	Anna (voice)
Julie Hermelin	...	Kathleen
Salvador Curiel	...	Sal
Jorge Barahona	...	Jorge
Ernesto Quintero	...	Ernesto
Julius Steuer	...	Mechanic

Storyline

Barry Egan hates himself and hates his life. The only male among eight siblings, Barry is treated poorly by his overbearing sisters. Despite owning his own business, he has gotten nowhere in life largely because of his insecurities. He leads a solitary life, which allows him to hide his violent outbursts that occur when he's frustrated. His solitude however allows him to think, he stumbling upon a scheme to travel the world on a pittance, travel which he has never done. Concurrently, he meets two people who pull him in two different directions. The first is Lena Leonard, a friend of his sister Elizabeth. Barry is slow to realize that Lena is attracted to him, he making her make all the first moves. Lena is eventually able to get Barry out of his shell, she who sticks around despite his obvious problems. His burgeoning relationship and thus new life with Lena is threatened by the second, "Georgia", who he contacted in an effort to alleviate his loneliness. Georgia and her "band of ...

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Plot Keywords:

absurd comedy | sister | happiness | brother sister relationship | seduction | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language including a scene of sexual dialogue

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Just Desserts

Filming Locations:

Le Petit Chateau - 4615 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$367,203, 13 October 2002

Gross USA:

$17,844,216

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$24,665,649

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Revolution Studios, Ghoulardi Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX SDDS DTS-ES

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Working titles included "Punch-drunk Knuckle Love", "Just Desserts" and "The X-4 Project".

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Goofs

When Barry is talking on the telephone with "Georgia" and sits down at his desk, the camera-man is reflected in the glass frame above the desk.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Barry: Yes, I'm still on hold.
Phone Rep: And what was this?
Barry: I'm looking at your advertisement for the airline promotion and giveaway.
Phone Rep: Ah, the 10 for 1 mile plan...
Barry: Yeah, it's hard to understand, because it says "in addition to". But I can't exactly understand in addition to what? Because there's actually nothing to add to.
Phone Rep: I think that's a typo then.h
Barry: Okay, so just to clarify - I'm sorry - 10 purchases of any of your healthy choice products equals 500 miles, and with the coupon, the same purchase ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Boom. Bang. Larrabee. 91 Hunjee. Hi there. Bye there. For TD.

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Connections

Referenced in After Hours: Movies Secretly Told From the Perspective of One Character (2015)

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Soundtracks

Danny (Lonely Blue Boy)
Written by Ben Weisman and Fred Wise
Performed by Conway Twitty
Courtesy of Universal Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

A slight departure from P.T. Anderson's `usual'

Being a big fan of P.T. Anderson's work since I saw `Boogie Nights' (about 3 times in one week at the theater) years ago, I anxiously awaited the release of his latest film. Then I heard it starred Adam Sandler, who is one of my least favorite actors of all time, but even then I figured that if anyone is going to make me not want to start throwing things at Sandler's image, it would be Anderson. After all, he got me to respect Tom Cruise after seeing `Magnolia'. When I finally got to see the film this past weekend (after wanting to see the film for about a year) I wasn't disappointed, and I found that my trust was not misplaced. Anderson took Sandler and turned him into a sad sack who is so psychologically screwed up he would be an analyst's dream. Emily Watson is his perfect counterpart as a classy yet extremely quirky love interest.

The content is pure P.T. Anderson. There are issues that are brought up that are completely bizarre and unexplained, and there are themes that are culled from real-life stories or incidents. Stylistically, it's a slight departure in that it isn't quite as flashy or `slick' as his last two films, but the bright primary colors that pervade the cinematography are absolutely beautiful. And instead of the steady 70's and 80's soundtrack that he usually utilizes, he kept it more simple this time, and just as inspired with the continuous running of `He Needs Me' from the `Popeye' soundtrack. That touch was not only fitting, but also simply brilliant.

I love the work of P.T. Anderson, and was absolutely charmed and endeared to this film. Just like `Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' isn't going to make me watch a Jim Carrey comedy, I'm still going to avoid Adam Sandler comedies like the plague, but I have to say that I respect him for his work in this film. This is the kind of romance film I like, and I recommend it to anyone who doesn't settle for the kind of romantic comedy/dramas that are churned out now by Hollywood.

--Shelly