I was never a big Adam Sandler fan, nor did I enjoy director Paul Thomas Anderson's prior hit "Magnolia" as much as critics raved. So I popped this movie in expecting no more than something to kill 90 mins or so.
I was blown away from the opening scene:
Picture a guy (Sandler) in a comically blue suit sitting in a creepy concrete room politely arguing on the phone about an airline promotion. The camera slowly surveys the absurdity and desolation of this man's seemingly pointless little life. Then things suddenly, violently and mysteriously take a turn. I knew from the first 5 minutes that this would be an exceptional film.
What follows is something like "Peewee's Big Adventure" all grown up and directed by someone like Godard. And you gotta love that stupid blue suit which he never changes.
With vast, absurd sets & bizarre deadpan humor reminiscent of the classic "Joe vs the Volcano" and vivid, oddball characters like in "Amelie", and with slow, voyeuristic camera work like in the Swedish "Songs from the 2nd Floor", this film achieves the perfect recipe for surreal comedy. You never know what to expect, and your bizarre expectations are never disappointed. I would compare this to other excellent offbeat films like Miranda July's "The Future", Emir Kusturica's "Arizona Dream" (an early Johnny Depp classic), anything directed by Jim Jarmusch ("Night on Earth", "Ghost Dog", "Coffee & Cigarettes") and particularly, my favourite quirky romcom of all time, Vincent Gallo's "Buffalo 66".
As with all the picks I just mentioned, "Punch Drunk Love" is a dreamlike story (not 'dreamy' but 'dreamLIKE') where events and images may seem random, but in the end it all comes together with a powerful & very satisfying message. The whole time, the film never loses its comedic edge, and although there aren't any big gags or witty punchlines, the strangeness of situations & characters had me laughing out loud in almost every scene.
If you like unusual comedies, if you have an eye for art & an ear for poetry (not to mention the perfect musical score--pay close attention to the effect it has), don't hesitate to watch this movie. It made a Sandler as well as Anderson fan out of me.
I was blown away from the opening scene:
Picture a guy (Sandler) in a comically blue suit sitting in a creepy concrete room politely arguing on the phone about an airline promotion. The camera slowly surveys the absurdity and desolation of this man's seemingly pointless little life. Then things suddenly, violently and mysteriously take a turn. I knew from the first 5 minutes that this would be an exceptional film.
What follows is something like "Peewee's Big Adventure" all grown up and directed by someone like Godard. And you gotta love that stupid blue suit which he never changes.
With vast, absurd sets & bizarre deadpan humor reminiscent of the classic "Joe vs the Volcano" and vivid, oddball characters like in "Amelie", and with slow, voyeuristic camera work like in the Swedish "Songs from the 2nd Floor", this film achieves the perfect recipe for surreal comedy. You never know what to expect, and your bizarre expectations are never disappointed. I would compare this to other excellent offbeat films like Miranda July's "The Future", Emir Kusturica's "Arizona Dream" (an early Johnny Depp classic), anything directed by Jim Jarmusch ("Night on Earth", "Ghost Dog", "Coffee & Cigarettes") and particularly, my favourite quirky romcom of all time, Vincent Gallo's "Buffalo 66".
As with all the picks I just mentioned, "Punch Drunk Love" is a dreamlike story (not 'dreamy' but 'dreamLIKE') where events and images may seem random, but in the end it all comes together with a powerful & very satisfying message. The whole time, the film never loses its comedic edge, and although there aren't any big gags or witty punchlines, the strangeness of situations & characters had me laughing out loud in almost every scene.
If you like unusual comedies, if you have an eye for art & an ear for poetry (not to mention the perfect musical score--pay close attention to the effect it has), don't hesitate to watch this movie. It made a Sandler as well as Anderson fan out of me.