Rating: 
Summary: Sad, sad, movie
Review: I love quirky and insightful movies. I watch THE USUAL SUSPECTS, SPANISH PRISONER, GLEN GARY GLENROSS, and all the rest and enjoy them over and over, relishing in the twists and turns and messages that these movies dispense. But, I'm not going to slap kudos on PUNCH DRUNK LOVE. This move is as disturbing as it is sad. The violence is not enjoyable. It was nothing like the trailers portrayed it to be and I will not recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: A different approach to creating a mood
Review: As I have read through many of the reviews here, I can't help but notice that many people seem to be confused and or annoyed by the many seemingly "pointless" scenes that take place in the film (especially at the beginning). After taking in the entire film, I feel that these scenes are not pointless, but essential to conveying the type of character Barry Egan (Sandler) really is. It seems the director (PT Anderson) wanted us to experience first-hand the sense of chaos and disorder that Barry experiences every day. Throughout this film, we are utterly barraged by loud noises, things shattering or breaking, and violent outbursts by the film's main character. By the end of the movie, I was totally on edge, and even felt slightly disturbed. This kind of filmmaking was refreshing to me, because it seemed almost inter-active...like I was temporarily part of Barry's life. I don't think I breathed once during the final showdown scene. Most of the symbolic stuff worked for me...while some of is totally unexplained (the presence of the harmonium, the girlfriend, etc...). I feel that most of us can relate to having things in our lives that just suddenly appeared that are beautiful and unexplained. If you enjoy films rely on a lot of symbology and visuals, then you will love this film. Rent and watch this one with an open mind. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: It's just a good, well writte, weird, entertaining film.
Review: I find a lot of the positive reviews on here just as funny as the negative ones. I love how so many people see a weird film, and proceed to write out an explanation of how their superior intelligence has allowed them to be so appreciative of this "Brilliant Masterpiece!" I really enjoyed this movie very much, and I certainly don't feel any smarter because of this. I also can totally understand why people would hate it. And I certainly don't think they are less intelligent than the ones who enjoyed it. As for the movie, it is truly different. I thought it was fun, delightfully weird, well written, well acted. Overall a very good movie. There were some aspects of the film that I wrote off to simple, deliberately-bizarre scenes that are to be left open to interpretation by the viewer. I also thought this was a very simple story, by the way. I didn't see very much to "GET," which I'm seeing a lot of comments on in these reviews. I think you simply have to be able to enjoy Sandler's character and that is just understandably difficult for some viewers. He's a very self conscious, nervous, introverted, frightened man with very low self esteem. He's extremely lonely and his life has many holes in it. I loved the things he does to stay busy and keep his mind occupied and give a sense of mission or purpose. Almost like avoidance. Collecting pudding for frequent flyer miles despite having no desire to travel. Calling phone sex lines just to have someone to speak with. A character like that can be difficult for someone to relate to or enjoy. And I can totally understand that. The Watson character has no real background in this film and I can see people being frustrated by not knowing why she is so interested in Barry Egan. I personally liked the ambiguity of her character. The mystery of what her background may entail only made their strange relationship more interesting to me. As for the stylistic complaints...you either like the director's style or you don't. I loved it. Also, I don't think the message at the end of this film could be any more simple. My girlfriend and I both really liked the movie. I found it refreshing to see a love story that didn't focus on overly attractive characters, whose lives are more well-adjusted than most people, going through the re-hashed love story plot line we've seen a million times in a million different settings. That's why I liked it. I enjoyed not having questions answered on motives behind attraction, which seems to be the problem a lot of people have with the movie. Some people are more lonely than others, for different reasons. This story was different than most love stories and I thought it was highly enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the time.
Review: I think this movie deserves two stars because some of the cinematography is wonderful and because the soundtrack is great and effective. Unfortunately, the movie lacks in character motivation, script, and plot in general. This fits in with so many so-called art films I've seen that seem to be little more than average stories with a few superficial character quirks thrown in.
Rating:
Summary: ARE YOU THREATENING ME?
Review: PUNCH DRUNK LOVE is a great love story. It is simply about a lonely man, Barry Egan. He is a good person. He is a nice man. He is loyal. He minds his own business. He owns his own business. But he's lonely. He's always been lonely. It's a curse that has followed him through his entire life, but finally gets what he deserves. He finds a love in his life, what may be the love of his life. This movie is bizarre and comes from out of nowhere. As you may have heard in the commercial, the movie is on the edge. It's a great story that has come out at exactly the right time. Teaming two of the greatest names in Hollywood, great writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson, and great actor, Adam Sandler, in a fine role, due to the fact that expands his audience's expectations of him. To me, while Sandler does an amazing job as a comedian (him being one of my favorite actors) I have felt that he has always been bound in his work to many similar movies: BILLY MADISON, HAPPY GILMORE, WATERBOY, ANGER MANAGEMENT, etc. So I think this is audience's chances to see the side of Adam Sandler that few pay attention to. Combine this with a killer story, and the skills of one of the greatest storytellers of our time, Paul Thomas Anderson, not to mention adding great supporting actors, such as Emily Watson, Luis Guzman, etc. and you have what could possibly one of the greatest movies of our time. The only problem is that this movie didn't exactly get a lot of publicity when it was released, although it did get some, and it only played in select cities (although I saw it in theatres, and bought it on DVD) many people who would enjoy this movie have been deprived of seeing it, or even hearing about it. So if you hear about this movie, and you decide to go to amazon.com to check it out, and come across this review, which I doubt, take it from me (but you don't have to) this movie is great. You'll probably enjoy it. Plus, if your a fan of Adam Sandler, Paul Thomas Anderson, Emily Watson, Luis Guzman, or anyone involved in this film, you'll probably like this movie. I'm not forcing you to watch the movie, but I strongly suggest that you check it out. And if Adam Sandler comes across this review, which I doubt, "congratulations on your marriage-I'm a huge fan of your movies". Now remember, Adam Sandler probably won't read this review. Just in case.
Rating:
Summary: What he said...
Review: Kevin, the first on this list to review said it. This movie is different for sure. It's off putting at times, and actually made me uncomfortable. Had to stop it for a break, but then it just blossoms, you understand Barry, your happy for him and the movie overall makes you feel good. I really enjoyed this and I can always tell when a movie is really good is when the next day and days after, you're still thinking about it and little things in it come to the surface. It's true, PTAnderson's a very visual guy and the script is not the movie's strongest point, but as a graphic artist, I get it. I'll be buying this one! Don't let hollywood spoonfeed us!
Rating:
Summary: I didn't get "it"
Review: I like Adam Sandler, but I didn't like or "get" this movie's point at all. Forewarning: This is not Sandler's typical role. I'm all for him branching out into different styles and I think he's quite capable, except I had a very hard time getting past that because of all the weirdness in this film. The opening sequence is just bizarre and you wonder throughout the entire film what the point of the instrument is. The relationship between Sandler and his love interest is equally bizarre. This has DEFINITELY an indie type of film feel, but does not come close to ONE HOUR PHOTO, which I think also has the same type of feel, yet is far superior. This movie is disturbing at times and confusing at others. I felt like I was doing drugs during this movie (which I can assure you I was not). The ending is a "Huh?"
Rating:
Summary: Insanely Great Movie---Exceeds all expectations
Review: If only Adam Sandler could have such an amazing director for each of his films; we'd be talking about his next academy award nomination instead of how dopey "Mr. Deeds" was... If you like quirky films (and I'm talking about "Being John Malkovich", "Adaptation", "PI", "Very Bad Things" and films like that here) you MUST SEE this film. Sandler and the editorial crew of this film have captured ANXIETY perfectly and distilled it to its purest form. Watch the scene with Emily Watson and Sandler's sister in his office with too much going on--the soundtrack pulses in frenzy and you simply know what's going on in our protagonist's mind...clear and pure anxiety and nothing else. The fact that he proves to be much more competent in the end than we expected only make this movie experience that much more enjoyable. Get it. The soundtrack is bizarre, the images are strange and the love story is extremely sweet. The side-story that adds the tension to the film is straight out of "Boogie Nights" and has a most satisfying conclusion ("that's that."). This is an amazing film. Don't miss it, unless you only like linear storytelling and pablum filmmaking.
Rating:
Summary: a totally senseless contrite ridiculous waste-of-time
Review: yeah, i have to lower down my wits to appreciate the shallow depth of this film, so pretentiously trying to be very philosophically deep. a portrayal of modern day ulysisism, loneliness, emptyness, void, loss, stress...blahblahblah, whatever you like to throw into this senseless film, and you have to say you understand it, appreciate it, deeply moved, wow, so meaningful, so....well, maybe i got no wits or totally clueless, but this movie obviously lost me. like attending a party, all the people around talking deep, but you just can't understand what they are talking about, and what's the purpose of trying to talk shallow thoughts with a philosophic attitude. you just keep nodding your head to show that you are totally agree to what they are saying, but deep down you just know they are all but crap. there is actually no weapons of mass destruction, but who gives the...., what've done is already done.
Rating:
Summary: A love story for the neurotic
Review: As a fan of P.T. Anderson films, this was one that I approached with some trepidation, namely because it starred Adam Sandler, whose movies have always inspired a particular kind of loathing from me. Although Punch Drunk Love is certainly Anderson's weakest film to date, I was pleasantly surprised. Sandler's performance as Barry Egan, a man hen-pecked to the point of serious neurosis by his seven sisters, is excellent and garners sympathy from the viewer even when we see the dark side of his character.
As for the rest of the film, it is one of the most beautifully shot films I have ever seen. The cinematography and camera work are absolutely brilliant, with each shot carefully constructed like a work of art. However, the film suffers from a script that is often not fleshed out enough, leaving the viewer with too many questions. The characters and situations are intriguing enough to warrant a deeper understanding of them through background information, but that information is never provided. All in all, the film stretches itself a bit thin branching out in too many directions that are all only partially developed.
What Punch Drunk Love presents us with is part character study, part love story. We are given insight into Barry Egan's quirky and eccentric mind and see the composite of a person made meek and jittery by years of verbal browbeating. Anderson effectively makes the viewer feel Egan's neurosis by showing his bizarre behavior and creating a feeling of tension and claustrophobia through both camera work and music. We are also witness to Egan beginning to overcome his timidity and take charge of his life by drawing on the strength that his relationship with Emily Watson's character Lena has given him. What is truly at the heart of this film though is the message that now matter how strange or different we may be, there is someone out there for us, someone who complements and completes us. However, finding this person often requires a certain amount of inner strength and the willingness to take a chance. Egan is frightened at first, unsure of whether his leap of faith will turn into a fall, but by taking that leap he is able to find someone that is a perfect fit for him, bringing a calming sense of balance and harmony into his life.
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