PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE

     There are two major mysteries surrounding PT Anderson’s new film, Punch-Drunk Love. The first is how in the world did this film manage to win the Palm D’Or at Cannes? The second is why Anderson decided to make it in the first place? I can’t answer either of these questions except to say that maybe the French are losing their collective minds and PT Anderson may be doing too much blow. I may be wrong. But I’m pretty sure I’m right about this: if you ignore all the lemming film critics and look objectively at Punch-Drunk Love, what you are looking at is one weak film.

The story centers on Barry Egan, an LA novelty business owner and a major-league idiot. Immature, emotionally stunted, psychotic, and extremely violent, Barry is the kind of guy who is funny in an Adam Sandler comedy but basically scary as a real person. Of course here, Barry is actually played by Adam Sandler and this bit of stunt casting is supposed to transform this goofiness into high art. Hey, it worked on the French! Me, I prefer my high art packaged inside a good film. Punch-Drunk Love, unfortunately, isn’t good.

Anyway, Barry’s sister sets him up with Lena (Emily Watson) who falls madly in love with him. Why? Love is blind, I guess (nor can it hear, taste, or smell). While this is happening, Barry gets involved in a lame-brained plot involving a blackmailing phone-sex scam and collects thousands of instant-pudding packets in order to win unlimited airline miles. All these moronic strands come together in a pseudo-climax involving a showdown between Barry and Philip Seymour Hoffman that is, admittedly, the best scene in the movie. But that’s not saying much.

PT Anderson is a brilliant filmmaker and the concept of doing a “serious” Adam Sandler film may have seemed like a good idea at some late-night soirée, but it’s not. Sandler does some good acting in this film and may go on to do some great work in the future, but the material itself works against him. (Here’s an idea: make a good film and hire Adam Sandler as an “actor”.) One major problem is that the Sandler Archetype is funny only within the realm of the goofy comedy. The same could be said for most comedic archetypes. Can anybody really imagine a “serious” film about Lou Costello’s persona? How about Jerry Lewis? Or even Buster Keaton?

But there’s another problem here, Anderson refuses to stick to the center of the story; which to me is Barry’s love affair with Lena. Punch-Drunk Love could have worked if the character-study approach was maintained for the entire film instead of abandoned after the first act. The sub-plots here are just plain distracting; they add nothing to the proceedings and are either dropped altogether or resolved in a manner that doesn’t seem at all realistic in terms of plot or character. Speaking of character, hiring a great actress like Emily Watson does not relieve one of the responsibility of actually writing her a descent part.

Overall, Punch-Drunk Love is slight, pointless and, worst of all, not very funny. Happy Gilmore was a better film.