Featured Audience Ratings

• Daniel P

  
  A visually interesting and unconventional love story about a very awkward character coming into his own. I've tried, but I just don't think P.T. Anderson is my kind of film-maker - I recognize why the work he's doing is good, but I don't enjoy it all that much. Of… More
  A visually interesting and unconventional love story about a very awkward character coming into his own. I've tried, but I just don't think P.T. Anderson is my kind of film-maker - I recognize why the work he's doing is good, but I don't enjoy it all that much. Of course, all Anderson acolytes tell me that you have to watch his movies a few times before you really see how much he's doing, and how well. I'm open to revising my opinion someday... in the meantime, Sandler surprises here, and there is some wacky intrigue, but overall it comes of like the Coen brothers with an MFA. Not terrible, just not my cup of tea.

• Kevin C

  
  It takes place in The Big Lebowski universe of logic. And I adore it.

• c0up  

  
  'Punch-Drunk Love'. This film vibrates at a very unique, weird frequency, and could easily be mistaken for a Charlie Kaufman job; everything from the set up to the absolutely kooky score, which really adds a level of chaos to it all! Not sure if it's meant to be… More
  'Punch-Drunk Love'. This film vibrates at a very unique, weird frequency, and could easily be mistaken for a Charlie Kaufman job; everything from the set up to the absolutely kooky score, which really adds a level of chaos to it all! Not sure if it's meant to be mirroring his own mind, but I remember it felt like it got louder and louder in some of the scenes at his office, and you get lost in it. Adam Sandler turns in clearly the best performance of his career, as a socially-challenged, female-dominated, always on the verge of violent rage, sad, lonely man. He's got a constantly absurd demeanour about him, and I never expected this from Sandler. Paul Thomas Anderson is clearly a genius. The shout-off with Philip Seymour Hoffman is hilarious. The entire plot is darkly rich in humour, and the camera-work has a noticeable flare about it, especially in the scene early on, alternating between Sandler at the counter and taking phone calls from his sisters. Speaking of flare, lens flare much?

• Lucas M

  
  A dark, unique, surreal and uncommon film with Adam Sandler, using a subtle comic personality and deadpan acting, explorer a simple and lonely life.

• Tim S

  
  I'm late to the game in seeing this one from Paul Thomas Anderson. I love his work, and I'm always eager to seek out other films that he's done. He hasn't done too many, as of this writing, but I always look forward to more. Punch-Drunk Love is probably the most… More
  I'm late to the game in seeing this one from Paul Thomas Anderson. I love his work, and I'm always eager to seek out other films that he's done. He hasn't done too many, as of this writing, but I always look forward to more. Punch-Drunk Love is probably the most curious film he's ever made. It stars Adam Sandler, who I generally dislike in movies. It's strange because at a younger age when he was fresh off of Saturday Night Live and releasing comedy albums I liked the guy, but over time I just got tired of his laziness as an actor and a comedy writer. So I was walking on broken eggshells when seeing this one. Thankfully, thanks to strong direction from PTA, Sandler's acting style helps turn his performance into a very good one. Astonishingly good, I'd say. The story goes in different directions and defies conventions, which is what I enjoyed the most about it. I never knew what was going to happen next, and that rarely happens to me when I'm watching a film these days. It's a cute love story about two screwed up people coming together amidst the chaos of their lives, especially Sandler's. The score is great, as well. Overall, it's just a fun and enjoyable movie, albeit a little intense. I couldn't ask for anything more from PTA, or Sandler for that matter.

• Kase V

  
  Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Punch Drunk Love' is not an easy film to watch. It is probably PTA's most artistically driven film. Sandler provides a surprisingly good performance with his extreme bouts of rage and honest emotion. Hoffman adds a nice comedic touch to the… More
  Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Punch Drunk Love' is not an easy film to watch. It is probably PTA's most artistically driven film. Sandler provides a surprisingly good performance with his extreme bouts of rage and honest emotion. Hoffman adds a nice comedic touch to the film as well. Fans of PTA's other work will be delighted, but the average movie goer may have a lot to complain about.

• Emil K

  
  Weakest film from talented Anderson. It tries visually so hard that in a while it gets only annoying as hell. This may be one of the better performances from Mr.Sandler, but still it only gets on your nerves and so does this film.

• paul o

  
  In short, its an art house Adam Sandler film. With a marvelous direction from Paul Anderson, this obscure story blossoms toward the end. Despite its flaws, its a redemption from Magnolia and a great addition to the director's films.

• Graham J

  
  Paul Thomas Anderson uses Sandler perfectly in this very strange film. Sandler gives the best performance he ever has.

• Melvin W

  
  Barry: I didn't do anything. I'm a nice man. I mind my own business. So you tell me 'that's that' before I beat the hell from you. I have so much strength in me you have no idea. I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine. I… More
  Barry: I didn't do anything. I'm a nice man. I mind my own business. So you tell me 'that's that' before I beat the hell from you. I have so much strength in me you have no idea. I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine. I would say 'that's that', Mattress Man.  I can't even begin to describe how much I love Punch-Drunk Love. It's a mesmerizing, original, extremely odd masterpiece from Paul Thomas Anderson. Pudding, frequent flier miles, a harmonium and a sex talk phone line fuel the movie. So that should give you a little idea to how odd a movie this is. Adam Sandler in a role that gives him some freedom. It shows that he can act when he decides to break away from the dumb comedies he is always appearing in. He's so good in his role of Barry Egan that it almost makes me hate Sandler for not doing movies like this more often. A supporting role from Emily Watson is absolutely fantastic as well. Her and Sandler are amazing on screen together. Punch-Drunk Love is like nothing I have ever seen before and probably will never see again. I consider it to be probably in my top 5 favorite movies ever; I love it that much. All the odd little ins and outs that Anderson uses work so well together. There is a scene in the film where Barry is in his office talking to a girl he just met, while he is receiving  phone calls that are totally tearing his life apart; that is absolutely phenomenal. Scene after scene, weird, almost surreal events taking place that shouldn't work. Yet, somehow they do. It's a romantic-dramedy that doesn't follow the usual formula. It's something completely different from anything else.  Honestly if you don't like this movie and it's because your an Adam Sandler hater; you need to get over it and look past that. Hate all of his other movies, but here, he's amazing; just like the movie. I'm not a huge fan of Sandler, but I'm a huge fan of his work here. I believe he got robbed of an Oscar nomination just because of his name. Like, nominating him would take away from the Academies credibility. If your sick of formula driven, predictable romantic-comedies; give this one a watch. It may just blow you away like it did me.

• Kristijonas F

  
  This movie is the perfect example of Adam Sandler utilizing his lovable personality and comedic talent to create a fresh, off-kilter comedy rather than all the other derivative dreck that he pumps out year after year.

• Lewis C

  
  I'm in love with this movie. I can't begin to explain all the things it does right, all the things it does absolutely perfectly. It has just enough of everything; just enough humor, just enough style, just enough tension, just enough love, and it was just surreal enough to… More
  I'm in love with this movie. I can't begin to explain all the things it does right, all the things it does absolutely perfectly. It has just enough of everything; just enough humor, just enough style, just enough tension, just enough love, and it was just surreal enough to make it all make sense. I real can't think of any substantial complaints to make. The first few minutes were a bit disorienting, because it was just so different. I love getting a completely unexpected experience from a movie, and Punch-Drunk Love was as fresh as they come. The next time someone asks me what my favorite kind of movie is, I'll tell them that I love movies just like this one. Movies that are brazen mishmashes of genres and styles, adding up too much more than the sum of their parts. Paul Thomas Anderson must be a brilliant man. The story and direction was immense, and whoever put together this score must have been inspired by the Muses. The cast was marvelous. I'll never be able to look at Adam Sandler the same way, again. Emily Watson's character may be one of the most appealing fictional personages that has ever been imagined. I'm really not trying to gush like this, but I can't help it. Punch-Drunk Love is easily one of my twenty-five favorite movies, ever. No, it's not for everyone, but you owe it to yourself to try to watch it at least once.

• Jay H

  
  Something about Sandler's relationship to the film's rather bizarre plot just clicks, creating this moderately entertaining film that perhaps comes off as more well-made than it actually was.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine."</i> A beleaguered small-business owner gets a harmonium and embarks on a romantic journey with a mysterious woman. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine."</i> A beleaguered small-business owner gets a harmonium and embarks on a romantic journey with a mysterious woman. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson once again shows his idiosyncratic talents at full tilt in this lopsided yet genuinely involving romantic comedy of off-beat proportions showcasing Sandler (in a surprisingly affective performance of his career) as a San Fernando Valley, CA small businessman whose bland lifestyle is out-of-balance when he meets a lovely young woman (Watson equally good) who inexplicably is smitten with each other in an unlikely meet-cute which leads to a series of surreal events. Sandler's man/child shlub is empathetic to a fault whether he's being emasculated by his seven harpy sisters, venting his pent up anger or soft-speaking his embroiled emotions all to a remarkable display of nuanced acting hitherto fore unseen. Funny, heartbreakingly poignant and highly original with tinges of pretentiousness are all earmarks of the uncanny Anderson (who also wrote the screenplay) who runs out of steam in the final act yet makes a big effort that cannot be overlooked as a talented show-off.

• Spencer S

  
  The surprisingly poignant, and dramatic performance by Sandler is Golden Globe worthy, and essentially, very well intact.

• Daniel J D

  
  I think I'll stick with the most striking description of the movie I've heard, and that is that this movie isn't for everyone but that everyone should see it.

• Conner R

  
  What is great about this is that it's not typical in any sense of the word. It has one of the kookiest plots about a normal man being invaded by sex calls and manipulated beyond belief. Adam Sandler and Emily Watson were perfect together and give you such sympathetic characters.… More
  What is great about this is that it's not typical in any sense of the word. It has one of the kookiest plots about a normal man being invaded by sex calls and manipulated beyond belief. Adam Sandler and Emily Watson were perfect together and give you such sympathetic characters. It's probably the best Adam Sandler has ever been in a movie, mainly due to the fact that he took himself seriously. I would love to see more of this from him.

• xGary X

  
  An emotionally repressed salesman woos his sister's colleague but blackmailers from a phone sex line complicate matters. I hate Adam Sandler, I think he is the least funny man on the planet. I have been conned into watching his films in the past because of the talent associated… More
  An emotionally repressed salesman woos his sister's colleague but blackmailers from a phone sex line complicate matters. I hate Adam Sandler, I think he is the least funny man on the planet. I have been conned into watching his films in the past because of the talent associated (namely Anger Management featuring Jack Nicholson) and my opinion did not change. Here we have a film directed and written by the excellent Paul Thomas Anderson who was responsible for some brilliant films, not least of which the very funny Boogie Nights. Punch Drunk Love is not one of them; the only reason I knew that this was supposed to be a comedy is because it was written on the back of the DVD cover. When will film makers realise that weird does not automatically equal funny...? All of the characters in this were unbelievably annoying and unsymapthetic not least Sandler himself, there are no laughs WHATSOEVER, and it's a tediously boring, charmless chore to sit through. He has managed to go from one end of the bad comedy spectrum (puerile and adolescently unfunny) to the other (irritating and pretentiously unfunny) in one step. Never again Sandler. NEVER AGAIN.

• Anthony L

  
  The only Paul Thomas Anderson/Adam Sandler film I like, and I really like this one!

• Dan S

  
  An overall disappointing romantic-comedy that I really expected a lot more from in the end. Sandler is magnificent, he's so good he should've got a Best Actor nomination for his part as an emotionally troubled individual who shows off other scary personalities from time to… More
  An overall disappointing romantic-comedy that I really expected a lot more from in the end. Sandler is magnificent, he's so good he should've got a Best Actor nomination for his part as an emotionally troubled individual who shows off other scary personalities from time to time. There are some nice artsy things here and there, such as the silhouettes of Watson and Sandler kissing, as well as some jolting scenes that correspond well with the lively score. Still don't understand the fuss over this movie in general though, the ending is too weak for my liking, the showdown between Sandler and Hoffman is lacking big-time, and you just get the feeling Anderson is really impressed with himself throwing in rainbow colors to spice up an overall dull and lifeless plot with a weird subplot. Atleast the running time is manageable, though.

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