IMDb > Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Punch-Drunk Love
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Punch-Drunk Love (2002) More at IMDbPro »

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Punch-Drunk Love (2002) -- Canadian
Punch-Drunk Love (2002) -- A beleaguered small-business owner gets a harmonium and embarks on a romantic journey with a mysterious woman.
Punch-Drunk Love (2002) -- ZuGuide.com - Trailer (Flash)
Punch-Drunk Love (2002) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)
Punch-Drunk Love (2002) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   45,509 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
No change in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writer (WGA):
Paul Thomas Anderson (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Punch-Drunk Love on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
1 November 2002 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Romance more
Plot:
A beleaguered small-business owner gets a harmonium and embarks on a romantic journey with a mysterious woman. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 13 wins & 15 nominations more
User Comments:
Biggest surprise of the year - an Adam Sandler art film more (810 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Adam Sandler ... Barry Egan
Jason Andrews ... Operator Carter (voice)

Don McManus ... Plastic (voice)

Emily Watson ... Lena Leonard

Luis Guzmán ... Lance
David Schrempf ... Customer #1
Seann Conway ... Customer #2

Rico Bueno ... Rico
Hazel Mailloux ... Rhonda
Karen Kilgariff ... Anna (voice)
Julie Hermelin ... Kathleen
Salvador Curiel ... Sal
Jorge Barahona ... Jorge
Ernesto Quintero ... Ernesto
Julius Steuer ... Mechanic
more
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Just Desserts (USA) (working title)
Punchdrunk Knuckle Love (USA) (working title)
The X-4 Project (USA) (working title)
Untitled P.T. Anderson Project (USA) (working title)
Embriagado de Amor (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Armastusest joobunud (Estonia) [et]
Embriagado de amor (Argentina) [es]
Ivre d'amour (Canada: French title) [fr]
Lewy sercowy (Poland) [pl]
Punch-Drunk Love (Spain) [es]
Punch-Drunk Love - Ubriaco d'amore (Italy) [it]
Punch-drunk love - Ivre d'amour (France) [fr]
Punch-drunk love - rakkauden värit (Finland) [fi]
more
MPAA:
Rated R for strong language including a scene of sexual dialogue.
Runtime:
95 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Filming Locations:
Claremont, California, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Director of photography Robert Elswit used a special film stock that allowed him to shoot mostly in underexposed light, thus giving the shadows greater depth. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Barry boards the flight to Hawaii, he wears the blue suit with the red tie he keeps wearing throughout most time of the movie. When he is shown sitting on his seat talking to his seat neighbor, his tie is yellow. The next scene, showing him leaving the Hawaii Airport, he wears the red tie again. more
Quotes:
Barry: Pudding... more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in 50 First Dates (2004) more
Soundtrack:
Waikiki more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
124 out of 152 people found the following comment useful.
Biggest surprise of the year - an Adam Sandler art film, 6 October 2002
10/10
Author: bam9 from Brooklyn, New York

I caught this at the New York film festival and my expectations were about as low as they could be. I was never a huge Adam Sandler fan, and I hadn't ever taken a liking to PT Anderson's other films. I thought that Magnolia was pretty flimsy writing-wise, and I also thought that it got way too much undue attention when it came out.

I couldn't believe how great Punch Drunk Love was. It seems to be the polar opposite of Magnolia. Where Magnolia was sprawling, messy and often generic, Punch Drunk Love is short, tight and completely fresh. It reminded me of Fargo, in a way. It centers on a very small cadre of characters, it's incredibly focused, and it creates its own world for those characters to live and move around in.

It's been mentioned here before, but the art direction is stunning. I haven't seen such memorable visuals since The Royal Tenenbaums. In a grocery store scene, the items are stacked vertically by color (echoing the color bars that appear periodically between scenes), making the scene appear otherworldly. Other sets are bare of color or distinction. Sandler's love interest in the film (played by Emily Watson) lives in a maze of white corridors. Somehow, every "place" in the film has its own character and association. Even the characters become associated with particular colors.

The movie ends up being genuinely romantic while deviating completely from the very stale paradigm for romantic comedies of the last decade: Watson's character pursues Barry Egan; their inability to hit it off from the start is more character-driven and psychological than situational. Through the use of bizarre props and surreal scenes, the anxiety and frustration of Barry Egan becomes totally absorbing and affecting.

This is a wonderfully directed film. There isn't an extraneous moment. The visual style and pacing are particularly great. There's an interesting subtext in the film about communication - enormous background noise while characters are on the phone, Barry Egan's sisters' voices create this wall of noise (all voices making fun of him), telephones figure predominantly, the opening scene is completely bereft of background noise or music. There are a lot of interesting things to consider when it comes to the theme of communication and how sound is handled in the film.

That said, I'm already cringing at how most people are going to react to this. The Adam Sandler fans might find it too weird. People who liked PT Anderson's other movies might find it too pretensious. I was thrilled to have my low expectations completely overturned. This movie is great.

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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
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So, what was with the car crash? PunchUpAtAWedding
Blu Ray kcbarker4-1
If 'Punch-Drunk Love' is In Your Top 15, Post It! SickJoke
The worst movie ever canz9684
One of the Most Underrated Movies of All Time eyesmalloy
Unwatchable jwarttman
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