From the very first shot, you realize this is neither your typical P.T. Anderson movie (which usually runs well over two hours) nor Adam Sandler movie (a would-be comedy with sporadic moments of hilarity). Barry Egan (Adam Sandler) is a novelty toilet-goods manufacturer-salesman with seven sisters who delight in recollecting how they tormented him as a child and then chastise him for not dating more. Punch-Drunk Love is the story of how Barry finds the title condition, with a sweet-natured young woman (Emily Watson) who’s determined to break through his shyness. The story encompasses the purchase of enormous amounts of pudding, blackmailers from Provo, Utah, a trip to Hawaii and a harmonium that abruptly appears out a cab. The movie has an undeniable strangeness to it, and Adam Sandler’s awkward, good-hearted anger-management issues prove that his annoying mannerisms have a logical reason for their existence. The film leaves you stupefied and feeling that this could be the warmest, most dreamlike film you will probably encounter for a long while.
