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:

sister | happiness | absurd comedy | seduction | romantic | 

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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, Limited Release

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

As sound is a major player in the film, Paul Thomas Anderson brought in Gary Rydstrom to do the sound mixing. Rydstrom, who is the chief sound editor for Pixar, is more noted for his work on big noisy special effects movies, notably through his long-term association with Steven Spielberg, for whom he worked on Jurassic Park (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).

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Goofs

When Barry calls Lena from the phone booth in Hawaii, a red light dot is reflected in the side of the phone booth. Some think this is from the camera, however, professional film cameras don't have such a light. It appears to be the traffic light from across the street.

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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

Egan's six sisters are credited collectively as "The Sisters." The four brothers who pursue and assault him are credited collectively as "The Brothers."

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #18.66 (2010)

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Soundtracks

Waikiki
Written by Andy Cummings
Performed by Ladies K

User Reviews

The stuff dreams are made of.

I saw Punch Drunk Love at the Gothenburg film festival today and I was totally overwhelmed by it. I had really looked forward to it since I love Paul Thomas Anderson's earlier films. Magnolia is still among my top five favourite movies ever and my expectations were therefore almost too high. I must admit I was sceptical of Adam Sandler playing a serious part. But he makes fantastic interpretation of his character Barry Egan, a small business owner pushed around by his seven (!) sisters who's miserable life takes a turn when he meets love in Emily Watson's character. Watson makes a beautiful portrait of the mysterious and lonely Lena who falls in love with Barry.

The movie isn't just well acted, it's also magnificent to watch. The camerawork is exquisite and Anderson really shows of his visual talent. Every frame in the one and a half hour film could be frozen and displayed as a piece of art. But the most impressive thing in the film is still Adam Sandler. Every word, expression and nuance is perfect and genuine. If this doesn't deserve an Oscar nomination I don't now what will. His performance is superior to the last five winners.

Punch Drunk Love is the way a movie should be. It's the way you wish all movies were like and I wish I could hang it on my wall. The poster will have to do.