| PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE |
| Starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Luis Guzman, Phillip Seymour Hoffman Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson **� out of **** How could a PTA film starring Adam Sandler go wrong? PTA is the man behind Boogie Nights and Magnolia; Sandler (for those who actually don�t know) has made millions by starring in incredibly bad, very stupid comedies (Bid Daddy, Mr. Deeds). Yet the mere idea of this actor teaming with a fabulous cast � Emily Watson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman (a PTA veteran) and character actor Luis Guzman � and an explosive director brings delight to the mind. And then when you see it, it doesn�t work. It works halfway and then ends. It like going to a prestigious restaurant and ordering an interesting main course, only for the dish to be a messy burger instead of the expected taste sensation. Barry Egan (Sandler) is an angry young man. He has his own business but no social life; he calls a sex line to talk to a woman who, despite her profession, is at least nicer than his sisters (the six or seven of them). Barry�s sisters perceptibly heftily contributed to him being so filled with rage; calling an adolescent �gay boy� surely doesn�t facilitate optimal emotional stability. Lean (Watson) is a friend of one of the sisters. She sees Barry in a photograph and want to meet him; they hit it off well when she visits him at work despite everything around Barry going wrong. Meanwhile, it turns out that Georgia, the phone sex girl, wasn�t such a peachy gal after all. She wants money from him, and her boss (Hoffman) dispatches four brothers to take care of the matter when Barry refuses. In the meantime, Barry is busy buying pudding to earn frequent flyer miles (this amusing part of the story is inspired by actual events). PTA uses Sandler�s �Pissed Off Guy� persona to considerable effect; Barry Egan is all his raging characters from bad comedies rolled into one dysfunctional man. The acting is first rate, and there are a handful of scenes that make the film worth it: an unexpected opening sequence, Lena visiting Barry at work, the brothers attacking Barry the second time. Sometimes the script is insightful in how his relationship with Lena strengthens Barry. The film as a whole, however, is exactly what PTA�s other films are not: unremarkable, over too soon and unfocused. I�m sure that somewhere in there is A) a great, quirky romance and a B) dark crime comedy waiting to pop out, put Punch-Drunk Love tries to be both and fails with aplomb. The disappointment is greater because you know that the man who wrote and directed has done much better work. It would�ve been a fine debut picture though, just as Planet of the Apes would�ve been a reasonable debut for hypothetically unknown director Tim Burton. I liked Punch-Drunk Love but I don�t particularly care for it. There are moments that�ll stay with me for a while, but they are few. What PTA wanted to make and the end result are not the same. It�s clever and even occasionally sweet, but it�s way too conscious in trying to be an offbeat love story. COPYRIGHT 2003 CW Broodryk |
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