Movie Review: Punch-Drunk Love

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7nI2kkx5BmLPPnjmxR6DKj?si=wBORagowQBKGBwilo4lTzA

Going into this movie I had only seen a few Paul Thomas Anderson movies. I have seen Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, and Licorice Pizza, but have heard nothing but good things about Punch-Drunk Love. It's weird, when I watched it I was way lower on the movie than I was a few weeks out and looking back. My initial thought was that Adam Sandler is kind of unlikable, even if he is debilitatingly lonely to the point its endearing because the rage problems do kind of make him difficult to like. He's wishy-washy to the point that the plot acting on him is the only thing forcing him to act which could work (look at Clerks) but the indecisive or passive protagonist needs to be either fully likable or fully unlikable so the audience either loves or hates them.

Punch-Drunk Love is not exactly something I'd call a must-watch, but it's certainly enjoyable enough and does have the significance of being the film that showcased Adam Sandler's dramatic chops. I feel like had I seen this closer to release or in high school I'd have been higher on it but it's just kind of fine to go back and watch it now 22 years removed for the first time. Full thoughts are available in this week's Thirty Minute Reviews podcast.

★★★★