Punch-Drunk Love (2002) Rated R Starring: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman Rating: out of

Paul Thomas Anderson, writer and director of Boogie Nights, has managed to write a script that channels all of Sandler's hostile tendencies into a character that is actually believable and, dare I say, likeable despite his flaws.

Sandler plays Barry Egan, a small business owner who's been oppressed and verbally abused by his seven sisters all of his life. Despite this -- and an inability to control outbursts of aggression -- he's managed to do okay professionaly. The film opens as a series of seemingly unconnected events begins to unfold in Barry's life: A harmonium is discarded from a taxi directly in front of Barry's novelty plunger business. Barry then meets Lena (Emily Watson), a woman who works with one of his sisters. Barry makes a call to a sex chat line and falls into a scam involving his credit card. And, as all of this is going on, Barry discovers a loophole in a Healthy Choice/American Airlines promotion that enables him to rack up a lifetime's supply of frequent flyer miles despite the fact that he's never been on a plane in his life.

Punch-Drunk Love's appeal comes from the completely unpredictable way that the movie progresses. Paul Thomas Anderson is no stranger to taking viewers on journeys that have no immediately discernable destination and this is another of those trips. But this time, he's got a partner driving the bus: Adam Sandler. This film would not be the same without his performance. While it is true that Barry Egan is very similar to the characters that Sandler has played in The Wedding Singer and The Waterboy, this time out there is a depth that no Sandler character has ever possessed before. We are allowed to see the mental torture that Barry Egan goes through before launching into one of his outbursts. (A scene at a party that Barry would rather not be attending is perfectly set up and, although we anticipate it, the outburst still comes as a surprise.) This film is just as much Sandler's as it is Anderson's.

I can envision this film completely pissing off those that aren't willing to play along with it. It's not going to appeal to the Adam Sandler fans who desire Mr. Deeds 2 or The Return of Happy Gilmore. It's also not going to appeal to those people expecting a mainstream, brainless time-waster of a film. Punch-Drunk Love requires patience and some thought and, if the viewer chooses to accept this film as anything but passive entertainment, it's very rewarding.

Billed as a comedy/drama/romance, Punch-Drunk Love manages to defy any label. It's funny and it has a love story -- albeit a strange one -- at its core but trying to say exactly what it is is like trying to label the weird dream you had last night as a biographical drama. That said, Punch-Drunk Love is the best film I've seen so far this year.

Trivia: Will Patton, who plays Graves, is featured in Remember the Titans as Coach Bill Yoast. (Source: The Internet Movie Database)