SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Patience Watson One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Emmlier Anyone expecting to see the usual Sandler fluff, steer clear of this film, it's not for you. Sandlers films are very hit and miss for me, I like as many as I dislike, and I guess I should admit to loving a bit of fluff.This was difficult to watch for me, mostly in a good way, I actually experienced the pain Sandlers character is living.He plays Nick, a loner, socially awkward and prone to bouts of aggression, mostly as a result of his frustrations related to his overbearing, bullying sisters, 7 of them, and being blackmailed by a sex line worker. The way this is filmed and it's use of empty space, streets, roads, and discordant music serve to illustrate how bleak his life is and how much pain he is in. It actually hurt to watch it, you just want something to take away Nicks pain, and thankful it does in the form of Emily Watson. I could only watch this film once, but as I said in my first line, it may be the finest piece of drama Adam Sandler has ever done.

argonaute82 Horrible horrible movie!! Don't watch it! Huge waste of time!!!

jacobgrimshaw39 The most unpunctual and un-charatismic movie, acting and filming I've ever seen, my first movie review but I felt completely obliged to say this was actually the s***est movie to be produced, the fact IMDB give it such a solid rating gives me a total lack the disgust of faith in humanity.

tomgillespie2002 When asked what his next project would be following the success of his L.A. ensemble one-two of Boogie Nights and Magnolia, writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson responded that he would be making an Adam Sandler movie. He was met with a hearty chuckle by whoever was interviewing him, but little did they know that a comedy starring most people's - at least I would hope - least favourite comedy star was actually on the cards. Punch-Drunk Love ended up taking home the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival, but was undoubtedly Anderson's most divisive film. Surprisingly short and often incredibly weird, the film has garnered more and more respect and appreciation amongst fans and critics over the last 15 years, and many now even consider it to be the director's best work in a catalogue that includes the likes of There Will Be Blood and The Master.Punch-Drunk Love revolves around Barry Egan (Sandler), a troubled and socially-awkward salesman of toilet plungers and various other novelty items. Forever bedecked in a blue suit and red tie combination, Barry tries to keep to himself while harbouring a hatred for his inability to be 'normal', but his seven hen-pecking and overbearing sisters are constantly trying to 'bring him out of his shell'. Whenever his sisters mention the way they treated him as a child, he responds in a fit of rage. A family party is brought to a swift end when he kicks through patio doors after being reminded of a particularly cruel childhood nickname. He finds solace in a harmonium he finds dumped outside his work's warehouse, and eventually in an English woman named Lena (Emily Watson) introduced to him by his sister Elizabeth (Mary Lynn Rajskub). They like each other straight away, but she travels a lot, so Barry starts to take full advantage of a marketing loop-hole that will grant him a lifetime of air miles through purchasing mass quantities of cheap pudding.Anderson is apparently fond of Sandler's work, so he obviously sees something in the actor whose success has left many of us befuddled. Sandler typically plays the same person: The childish slacker who is a nice guy deep down, but prone to outbursts of rage. He plays very much the same here, only he is likeable and sympathetic, delivering his best performance to date. When he isn't smashing up a restaurant toilet or bruising his hand on his office wall, Sandler is remarkably subtle, mixing up his words in a nervous tic and struggling to meet people's gaze. In his loneliness, Barry phones a sex-line and ends up on the receiving end of a blackmail scheme run by scumbag mattress-store owner Dean (Philip Seymour Hoffman). It's all over the place in terms of plot, but Punch-Drunk Love is very much a character piece built around a troubled yet fascinating man finally finding love in the chaos of his life and his own mind. It's an acquired taste, but far more accessible than some of Anderson's later work, especially The Master and Inherent Vice. We probably all know a Barry but have likely kept our distance, but Punch-Drunk Love is brave enough to place him front and centre, lending a voice to the type of introvert misunderstood and viewed with suspicion by most.