adam sandler, emily watson
luis guzman, philip seymour hoffman mary lynn rajskub
unfashionable observations rating: A-
Adam Sandler is known for his goofy, over-the-top roles as funny, all-too forgettable miscreants. From Billy Madison to Happy Gilmore to The Waterboy, one thing was clear: Adam Sandler could only play one character. Sure, he’d have different names in each of the different movies. But it was the same character, with the same faults and the same sense of innocent likeability. For this reason, I always thought of Adam Sandler as one of the most limited actors out there. Whether he wanted it or not, he seemed to be typecast as the stupid-but-likeable dork.
This movie flies in the face of all assumptions one has made about Adam Sandler. He delivers one of the best performances of the year not only because he plays such an original character, but because we sense that he understands the quiet miscreant that finds himself oddly obsessed with Healthy Choice pudding. I for one could feel that Sandler was very comfortable as the enigmatic Egan. They say drama is easier to do than comedy. Perhaps this movie is Sandler’s personal testament to that.
Punch-Drunk Love is a refreshingly new kind of love story. It is a love story for those who do not know the first thing about love, or even about themselves. Barry Egan never does anything in the way of socializing, except when he gets visits from one of his seven sisters. We learn that in the past, they used to taunt him with names like “gay boy.” Essentially, he is the emasculated man par excellence. Living among so many women throughout his life has deprived him of the strength, vigor, and spirit that characterizes young men like him.
We are therefore not surprised when we learn that he sometimes has uncontrollable bouts of rage wherein he expresses his pent-up masculinity. At one point, he scarily demolishes the entirety of a men’s bathroom for no particular reason, and is subsequently asked to leave. Later on, he is able to beat up four guys armed with bats and knives in an unremitting display of power and control.
But of course, these random episodes of rage cannot be normal. In one very tender and difficult scene, Barry confesses to his brother-in-law that he needs psychiatric help, because, as he puts it, “Sometimes I don’t like myself.” However, because his brother-in-law is a dentist, there isn’t much that he can do for him. In an act of desperation, Barry seeks out human contact in a phone-sex service, which ends up having dangerous and sometimes perplexing consequences later on in the movie.
One of Barry’s sisters then introduces him to the lovely Lena (Emily Watson). Lena is also a kind of lonely spirit, mainly because her work requires her to travel a lot, making fruitful relationships with men almost impossible. When Barry dates Lena, they instantly find something special in each other. Lena ultimately represents the fulfillment of Barry’s masculinity, for he can finally find someone to care for, love, and protect.
This is by far Paul Thomas Anderson’s most sincere, subtle, and sentimental film. It artfully tells the story of a man who ends up discovering his own masculinity—and thereby his full sense of self—in the unlikeliest of places: a woman.
I’d give Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love an A-.
