‎Punch-Drunk Love (2002) directed by Paul Thomas Anderson • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Punch-Drunk Love

2002 Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

You can go to places in the world with pudding.

A beleaguered small-business owner gets a harmonium and embarks on a romantic journey with a mysterious woman.

Adam Sandler Emily Watson Philip Seymour Hoffman Luis Guzmán Mary Lynn Rajskub Robert Smigel Jason Andrews Don McManus David Schrempf Seann Conway Rico Bueno Hazel Mailloux Karen Kilgariff Julie Hermelin Salvador Curiel Jorge Barahona Ernesto Quintero Julius Steuer Lisa Spector Nicole Gelbard Mia Weinberg Karen Hermelin Larry Ring Kerry Gelbard Ashley Clark

96 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Joe ★★★★★ 21

When I was 17 or 18 I was eating lunch at this place called New York Subs (now closed) and I ordered my sandwich and sat down in front of this man (who I later learned was my parents' dentist, incidentally) who was by himself waiting on his food. When the waitress came by to bring him his order, I heard her ask him about the crossword puzzle he was doing. "Yeah, I find it's a lot easier to do the longer words first, then you can kind of work your way out from there. But sometimes I just can't solve the longer ones, and the shorter ones can help with those." There was something about this exchange that was…
Review by Adam Cook ★★★★★ 51

I always get strange looks when I tell people this is my favourite Paul Thomas Anderson film.

“But what about There Will Be Blood?”
“Have you not seen Boogie Nights?”

These are both sensible questions and brilliant films but it doesn’t change the fact Punch-Drunk Love is still his true masterpiece. It is his best film for numerous reasons - it is his best because it has a creative freedom rarely seen in his work, before or since. Anderson has become famous for making epic movies be they convoluted and complex ensemble dramas or films on a vast canvas. Punch-Drunk Love, on the other hand, is a small movie in every conceivable way be it cast size, narrative complexity and…
Review by Berken ★★★★★ 47

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP! SHUT, SHUT, SHUT, SHUT, SHUT UP… SHUT UP!"
#3 on Berken's Favorite Movies Of All Time

Everyone involved in the making of Silver Linings Playbook should look on this movie and despair. This is how you make an offbeat indie rom-com with a bipolar protagonist, David O. Russell. You can, for that matter, give your audience a happy, uplifting ending without resorting to Hollywood cliches and ending everything with a "you had me at hello" style rom-com one-liner, you just have to put a little bit more effort into it.

It's sort of incredible how Paul Thomas Anderson reinvented his whole toolkit to fit the protagonist and universe he was working with here. My favorite touch…
Review by Snakes$s 🐍 7

A movie about one of those important things we've been looking for all our lives: making real contact with another person. And let's not fool ourselves: no matter how strange we are, breaking bathrooms and throwing hammers around, there is someone out there who will understand us. and deep down, that's all that matters.
Review by Karsten Runquist ★★★★★ 11

Listen. Fantastic Mr. Fox is my favorite film, right? But I say that because of how it hits me personally. That being said, Mr. Fox is my favorite, but this is the best film I've ever seen (does that make sense?) I can't believe it gets better every time. I have a million things to say about this movie and I'm gonna try to cover most of them in a video coming later this week.
<3
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★★ 8

93

(35mm)

There's such an energy to this thing. At once bouncy and smooth and mechanical and confrontational. Car crashes give way to music, violent outbursts lead to sweeping walks in the gleaming blue city side streets, and frantic sprints down faceless hallways culminate in a kiss. Still has one of the biggest 'wow' moments in a movie, as Barry calmly rejects the chaos around him with a simple "I don't know" before Jon Brion's musical score overtakes the theater space, colliding with the blooming mirage of shapes, colors, and stars. The fact that this isn't even in my top 5 favorite Paul Thomas Anderson films should tell you a little bit about just how much I love the guy.

"I don't know if there is anything wrong because I don't know how other people are."

Recent reviews

Review by a tulip in a cup

so many feelings
so many feelings
so many feelings
so many feelings
Review by hannah ★★★★

i also pretend to drink coffee in front of cute girls to look casual
Review by HippieCommunist

Really, really loved this movie the second time around. I first watched this in high school and didn't connect with it and thought it was strange. It is a strange movie but it's also a phenomenal portrayal of self-hate and what that manifests as. Aesthetically it's exceptional too. Wow
Review by jakobb ★★★★

You'll need to know going into this one that it's quite goofy, but if you look past that you'll see a lot of heart. This movie does a wonderful job at allowing the viewer to experience vicariously that giddy and nerve-wracking joy which comes with finding romance.
Review by Christl

The score is amazing.

I feel like I shouldn't bother rating PTA's films since I never get a grasp on them.
Review by Kyle Osburn ★★★★★

Best birthday present ever seeing this again in glorious 35mm! PTA, I love everything little thing you do!
Review by Alexwileyman ★★★½

You really notice how much this movie fucks with sound when you see it in a theater.
Review by Olivia ★★★★★

(35mm)
Review by Wilson Smith ★★★★½

That’s not a piano.