Rating: Summary: I loved it, but the reviews are probably more entertaining Review: I thought PDL was great, but honestly, the reviews people have posted here on Amazon may be even more entertaining. Most of the Sandler fans just don't get the movie, and the people that do "get it" lash back at them. haha...wow.
Rating: Summary: Diamondgirl Review: This movie is possibly one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Definately one of those movies in which I was sorry for wasting my money and time to sit through. Even Adam Sandler couldn't help this pathetic plot.
Rating: Summary: Absolutely terrible.... Review: The ridiculous art of "black comedy" is noticed within this movie. Yes, Adam Sandler can act, that is the only positive attribute of this motion picture. Comedy can have many sides, but the side seen here is dumbing to the mind and soul as Sandler's character finds himself in ludicrous sitations and making idiotic statements to back himself up. NOT a good buy, find another comedy so as not to waste your time.
Rating: Summary: Not your typical Sandler fare Review: It's a little discouraging reading some of the reviews for this movie. It has been described as boring, moronic, the worst, and awful, among others. But if you look closer, you'll also notice that most of the awful reviews come from people who are self proclaimed Adam Sandler fans. His previous body of work before Punch Drunk Love has included: Bulletproof, Happy Gilmore, The Waterboy, Big Daddy, Little Nicky, and Mr. Deeds. Looking at that list, it is no wonder why most Adam Sandler fans would hate this movie. If you like your movies formulaic, blatantly stupid, and targeted towards the "teenage demographic," then stay away from this picture. It isn't for you. Go back to your Scary Movie 3, Dickie Roberts, and The Hot Chick. There are plenty of inane comedies out there for you to see. I don't consider this movie one of the best I have ever seen, but for a movie with Sandler, it is #1. It is definitely a strange feeling to see the personality of the characters that Sandler normally portrays living in the real world, instead of the alternate worlds of his other movies. And visually, the movie is stunning, with extremely long takes (the phone sex scene comes to mind) and beauty within each frame. The only real issue I had with the movie was that at times, it felt like it was trying to be weird just for the sake of weirdness. The car crash in the beginning and the harmonium did not seem to work for me as effective symbolism, and I found myself more than once hoping that they would explain what was happening with those two. But all in all, if you enjoy catching obscure little films at your independently owned theater, you might enjoy this one (if this didn't have Sandler in it, you wouldn't have found it in a multiplex anywhere.) And no, there is no Rob Schneider cameo in this movie.
Rating: Summary: mind numbing Review: This movie is one of those that at the end you say "I wish I had that 2 hours of my life back." This is by far one of Adam Sandlers worse movies to date. The dialog is pointless and takes you nowhere fast. Do yourself a favor and watch something redeeming like Legend of 1900 or Tortilla Soup. You'll feel much better about yourself and your 2 hours will have been well spent. Go back to SNL Adam that is were you belong.
Rating: Summary: I never give three-star reviews Review: Usually when I think about a particular movie and try to arrive at some kind of conclusion about it, I tend to end up saying that it's either "good", or bad, in some final, ultimate sense. A movie is either worth seeing or isn't; it either has something interesting to say or hasn't. Of course, even worse than movies that ultimately have nothing to say are pretentious films that pretend to have some such thing. That much being said, I'd like to state first that probably no movie has ever left me so confused as to its true identity as a good or bad film experience, as "Punch-Drunk Love". Everyone who saw it told me it was stupid; some just said it was horrible. A friend of mine who has seen a lot of movies and whose judgment in these matters I trust said that he had tried to keep an open mind throughout the whole movie - but that by the end he felt like the director's whole intention was just to have him sitting there scratching his head, and he left disappointed. In the first place, when I had first heard that the new P.T. Anderson movie was going to have Adam Sandler in it, I thought "Wow, that's going to be really painful." But "Magnolia" was and is one of my favorite movies, and most importantly, Emily Watson was playing alongside the protagonist. I figured that even if it was really bad, the sheer novelty of seeing an actress like Emily Watson rattling off some horrible script would be worth seeing. Well, what can one say? It succeeds at being a good and a bad movie at the same time. I think I'm convinced that this was Anderson's mission. This movie has some great, beautiful moments. The initial party scene where Barry kicks out a glass door; he ends up confiding to his brother-in-law in the laundry room: "Sometimes I cry a lot..." Whether it's Sandler or Anderson who should get the credit for that scene, it's pure genius. The score by Jon Brion seems to follow Barry everywhere he goes, and it works to great effect. The writing is genius in so many places. Agains, towards the end of the movie, when Barry has cracked and flown to Hawaii just to see this chick he hardly knows: he doesn't become a good guy, he explodes on his sister over the phone "I'm not gonna take this !@#$ing *&^% anymore you %$#@...!" Again, a great scene, prefectly filmed. The only problem is...this movie is bipolar or something. It can't decide whether it wants to please or not. I won't give away anything, but I feel obligated to inform people of the ungodly pretentiousness running rampant throughout this film. There are incredible scenes like the ones I mentioned, but there are also scenes where I swear to God the movie is actually making fun of itself and the director is trying to insult his audience directly. So, there you go, just a warning. But at least see it once.
Rating: Summary: Hardly enjoyable Review: I rented Punch-Drunk Love with the expectation of seeing a beautiful, artistic, and meaningful film that I could treasure and watch over-and-over again. I found little to be treasured. Certainly, the cinematography was lovely, the eerie soundtrack suited the movie's mood perfectly, the actors (for the most part) performed their roles very well, but otherwise... Nothing about the movie held me. The complexities of the life of a man with various mental disorders do not interest me (when presented without any particular purpose or meaning). The love story between Sandler and his love-interest did not catch my interest either. I feel that this film has no binding point of interest. I'd pass on it if I were you.
Rating: Summary: To all the sayers of the "nay" kind Review: This movie is awesome, Adam Sandler's best, and to try and explain it would be ignorant of me.
Rating: Summary: One word: Awful Review: If you are a fan of Vanilla Sky starring Tom Cruise then Punch Drunk Love is for you! These two movies should be thrown into a vault and never spoke of again. Adam Sandler is a great actor, but this movie makes him to be the worst. I have no idea why he would choose to do this role because it is completely meaningless. If you do choose to watch this movie be sure to have a blanket and pillow ready because you will be bored and exhausted from the confusion of the entire show.
Rating: Summary: think harder Review: I really enjoyed this movie and I am disgusted reading so many of the reviews for it and others like it. Everyone that hates movies that stray slightly from the normal dumbed-down garbage in American cinema hates them because they have to think a little. And that is sad. Punch-Drunk Love is not a deep movie by any stretch of the imagination. And although I loved it and loved the subtlety and dark humor of it, I don't think it is one of the best movies ever. But just because you didn't get your tired, old, cheesy jokes and predictable storylines doesn't mean you should give this movie a bad rating or "hate" it. If people only like predicatable plots, cheesy jokes, and oversexualized characters because they are easy to watch, they need to at least admit it and take responsiblity for their collective consumer laziness. Okay, that's my rant. Punch-Drunk Love is a great story of the complexities between two people. I thought it was great. You should see it.
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