Punch Drunk Love (R, 2002)

Barry (Adam Sandler), the boss of a business that sells novelty toilet plungers whose affable exterior hides enormous fear and fury. Through the course of the movie, Barry unstops his clogged up feelings, charts a course between the sacred and the profane, and reaches toward love and harmony. Barry's emotional journey begins when he confides to his brother-in-law, and calls a 900 number out of loneliness. Fascinated by a frequent flyer mile program, he buys hundreds of boxes of chocolate pudding -- he's not aware of it yet, but he yearns to go somewhere. When he meets Lena (Emily Watson), he feels that she is what he is longing for. He tries to use his absurd pudding miles to follow her to Hawaii, and when that does not work, he pays for a ticket. In an exotic natural location away from home, the lovers tell each other the truth and find one another. Yet, complications arise when part of Barry's earlier journey comes back to haunt him.

Writer-director P.T. Anderson ("Boogie Nights," "Magnolia") has created a highly original and intelligent movie. While the performance isn't really a stretch for comedian Sandler, he deserves a lot of credit for playing the straight man, without the distance and comfort (and hostility) of laugh lines. Watson is luminous, if enigmatic, as the warm-hearted girl who is a little surprised at how drawn she is to Barry. Anderson regular Philip Seymour Hoffman is outstanding as a would-be extortionist.

Audiences are likely to feel a bit punch drunk themselves as they try to make sense of this odd romantic journey with its offbeat dualities, combining extremes of chaos and harmony and love and anger, but this is undeniably an arresting and challenging film. Those expecting an Adam Sandler movie or a romantic comedy will be disappointed, but those who are open to something a little twisted and messy will find it very rewarding.

Studio: Sony Pictures
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Genre: Romance
Run time: 95 minutes
Theatrical release: October 25, 2002
DVD release: June 24, 2003
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: violence, sexual references, and language