Shots, such as when Sandler and Watson kiss in silhouette, are truly memorable -- but Punch-Drunk Love is never more than this: a series of chocolate-box moments, PT-style.
Comment
05/28/08
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
79
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:180
Fresh:142
Rotten:38
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: Punch-Drunk Love is weird and delightfully funny, even though Sandler essentially plays the same character he has always played in all his movies.
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Paul Thomas Anderson follows 1999's MAGNOLIA with the intensely compelling character study PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE. Barry Egan (Adam Sandler) is a quiet, shy, socially awkward man with an office in an... [More]
Starring: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzman
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Reviews for Punch-Drunk Love
Top CriticThe film looks good and has its funny moments, but too often one senses Anderson straining to impress...
06/24/06
Top CriticNothing makes much sense, and the Watson character would have run a mile from Sandler, who performs like Jerry Lewis at his least endearing.
03/25/03
Top Critic'Punch-Drunk Love is so convinced of its own brilliance that, if it were a person, you'd want to smash its face in.'
02/27/03
The film is unpredictable in its humour, drama and poignancy, and ends up fascinating.
02/16/03
An oddly moving, surprisingly charming film that you'll find yourself thinking about months after you see it.
02/08/03
Anderson has a firm grip on Sandler's dangerous essence and draws it out in an astonishing performance.
02/02/03
Top CriticBoth funny and moving -- profoundly odd, but also oddly profound.
01/07/03
Top CriticSubtle and more than a little offbeat, this is the kind of movie the Farrellys might make if they (a) made intelligent films and (b) weren't obsessed with gross-out humor.
11/14/02
Click to read the article
04/29/09
Click to read the article
10/18/08
...Punch-Drunk Love is (and always will be) the crowning achievement within Anderson's filmography.
01/03/08
It's a romantic comedy on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
11/01/07
It's clear by now that whatever characterization skill Anderson showed in his lean, mean debut, 1997's Hard Eight, was a fluke.
09/22/07
A trifle at 89 minutes with a genuine, heartfelt performance by Mr. Sandler, and not much else.
07/14/07
Paul Thomas Anderson used Sandler for a very specific purpose -to convey a sense of tough-luck awkwardness and smile-masking-frown frustration, and it worked perfectly.
01/04/06
It's a very idiosyncratic take on the genre, but it works because of Anderson's ability to challenge viewer expectations.
12/06/05
Anderson is simply punch-drunk on the possibilities of cinema, and sophisticated film lovers will be more than willing to go wherever he goes -- yes, even to an Adam Sandler movie.
12/06/05
What really makes this movie so special, apart from the revelation that Adam Sandler can act, is the direction.
09/30/05
Punch-drunk Love reminds me of why I go to movies in the first place. To be challenged, surprised, transported, inspired, and exhilarated.
01/15/05
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