Paul Thomas Anderson’s third film and his shortest by some
mark is Punch Drunk Love, a
fantastically extrovert romantic comedy which combines shades of Coen-esque
humour and dare I say Lynch-ian motifs of magical realism and dual personality.
The film is unlike any romantic comedy I’ve seen before and personally I prefer
it to the likes of There Will be Blood
and The Master for which the Director
is better known.
Although the plot is often a bit thin and sometimes
incidental it concerns a lonely and occasionally awkward man called Barry (Adam
Sandler) who owns a small business that sells novelty toilet plungers. Barry
has the misfortune of having seven sisters, a situation which emasculates him
and causes him no end of hassle and grief. One day while at work Barry
witnesses a horrific car accident and suddenly ends up with a harmonium. That
same day he also meets a pretty girl called Lena
(Emily Watson). Sometime later, while lonely, Barry calls a premium rate sex
line, a move which brings about a lot more pain and hassle than even seven
sisters can muster.
