(POSSIBLE PLOT SPOILERS) When I hear that a movie is under two hours, especially a movie directed by a talented director, I begin to feel disappointed. To me, a short film means, not enough time to develop characters, plot, setting, etc. My top ten favorite films of all time run at two hours or are longer. But then there are those films, that are around ninety minutes that are brilliant with plot, character and setting. FARGO, RUSHMORE, and THE OX-BOW INCIDNET are all films that run under 100 minutes, yet they have more texture in that short time than most of Kevin Costner's films. I was shocked to see and hear that the latest Paul Thomas Anderson film, PUNCH DRUNK LOVE was 94 minutes. BOOGIE NIGHTS running time was 152 minutes, MAGNOLIA's running time was 188 minutes, I was beginning to accept Paul Thomas Anderson as a epic length director. But with PUNCH DRUNK LOVE, Anderson manages to pull off another splendid delight with only 94 minutes of film. I've been saying for months that PUNCH DRUNK LOVE is going to do for Adam Sandler what THE TRUMAN SHOW did for Jim Carrey. Adam Sandler will be accepted as a actor and not just for laughs. As I said this to the countless teenagers and young adults who wanted to see PUNCH DRUNK LOVE, they didn't listen and expected to see HAPPY GILMORE, BILLY MADISON, or MR. DEEDS. Now don't get me wrong, I've always enjoyed Adam Sandler's work. I loved him on Saturday Night Live (from Opera Man to one of the "Gap Girls"). I saw BILLY MADISON and HAPPY GILMORE on opening day and kept telling people that Sandler is indeed a very funny guy. I even enjoyed the Sandler box office hits of THE WEDDING SINGER and BIG DADDY. I forgave Sandler for doing the unfunny films of BULLETPROOF, THE WATERBOY and LITTLE NICKY. Then I began to cringe when I heard Sandler's name after watching the awful MR. DEEDS, was Sandler selling out? Now I've regain my faith for Sandler, with thanks to Anderson for regaining my faith in Sandler's talent. If there's any film that fits the typical personality of Sandler characters, PUNCH DRUNK LOVE is it. Sandler plays Barry Egan, a timid man who runs a business of making unbreakable toilet plungers. Barry is the only male sibling with seven sisters. Barry's sisters tease and ridiculed Barry all of his life, by calling him cruel names like "Gay Boy." Barry doesn't deserve this treatment, he's just timid and shy. But it's this teasing and taunting from the sisters that builds up the anger and aggression in Barry that at times, Barry can't take it anymore and just cracks. Barry has two projects that he works on that occupy his time: buying as much Healthy Choice Pudding to collect frequent flyer miles to fly free for a life-time. And, most important, his new romance with Lena Leonard (Emily Watson) a very nice and pretty girl who brings out the good side of Barry. Yet, in Provo, Utah, a sleezy phone-sex owner, Dean Trumbell (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) sees Barry nothing more than a pervert who is cheating him out of hundreds of dollars. I've had people come up to me, yelling and screaming at me about how awful PUNCH DRUNK LOVE was, and that it was one of the worst films of the year! Well, these are the same nimrods who love shallow movies like MR. DEEDS, THE WEDDING PLANNER, most of Sandra Bullock's films. I saw PUNCH DRUNK with high expectations, and came out with a much bigger response. I LOVED THIS FILM!!!! I haven't seen a much more original and true to life romantic film like this in years! The way the character of Barry is very agressive and angry, yet is changing it to being more calm, for his love of Lena. There are some scenes where Sandler's performance is so well done, that I was both laughing and felt sorry for the guy at the same time. Kudos credit goes to Emily Watson playing the very nice and gentle Lena, and Anderson regulars Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the sleezy Dean Trumbell and Luis Guzman as the reliable Lance. But if this film belongs to anybody it's both Sandler and Anderson. Sandler gives a very complex and detailed performance that it is worthy of a Oscar, not a nomination, but a statuette! Just watching some of the scenes I looked closely at the face of Sandler, and he managed to give the character of Barry much complexity that not many other actors can give. I thought the character of Barry was MUCH better than Denzel Washington's Oscar winning role for TRAINNING DAY. Then there's P.T. Anderson, who's directing with the long angles, the track shots, the multi-color images between scenes, and placing a perfect way to use Harry Nillson's underrated score from Robert Altman's POPEYE, by using the Shelly Duvall song, "He Needs Me" to fit into the story so well. Anderson won a Cannes Film Festival award for Best Director for this film, he deserved. And if there was any justice, Anderson should get at least nominated for this film. This is perhaps the best work I've seen Anderson do for a film, and it's less than half the running time of MAGNOLIA. I loved PUNCH DRUNK LOVE very much that it's one of my favorite films of both this year and of all time. And if you think what those negaitve ninnies said about it being the worst movie of all time. Those same people said the same thing about EVITA, MEMENTO, and JAY & SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, you be the judge. As for me, I highly recommend this film, and I'm waiting to hear Sandler's acceptance speech (at least for the Golden Globes). ***** (out of five)
Review of Punch-Drunk Love
