stop complaining

Wow, how did you copy my post and then paste it in bold? Pretty cool, I'll have to try that sometime.

I think I probably invoked the "modern art" analogy here because I spent much of the movie admiring the movie's form, its style, instead of primarily being wrapped up in characters and story itself. Sorry if that doesn't make sense, but it's been a long day. Maybe I was really taken in by the way PTA was telling the story and how unique it was. In that sense, it reminded me of "Being John Malkovich" in its originality, though of course they're very different movies.

I do give him props here for being different. True originality, creating something in a form that hasn't really been done, gets some brownie points in my book. Three things here I found paricularly clever: 1) a romantic comedy that doesn't really fit into the genre; maybe it's saying that the stories in typical romantic comedies aren't entirely real. Maybe in exagerating Barry's faults and the situations in the movie, PTA is kindof playing into this falseness or "cuteness" seen in most romantic comedies.
2) An Adam Sandler flick that will clearly disturb those devoted fans who flock to his movie. 3) great use of music, as I wrote earlier.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing about this movie, though, was the fact that I drive the same type of car as Barry (early 90's Buick LeSabre, champagn colored). I just about gagged on my popcorn when I saw him driving it.

That's funny about the car, man. Just like how I almost died when I saw (sorry heard) Ben Affleck watching the Batman Super Powers video in Chasing Amy. I thought I was the only person on EARTH who did that in his spare time. (great background noise!)

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Originally posted by JustaFied
Wow, how did you copy my post and then paste it in bold? Pretty cool, I'll have to try that sometime.

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Use the "Quote" button.

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I do give him props here for being different. True originality, creating something in a form that hasn't really been done, gets some brownie points in my book. Three things here I found paricularly clever: 1) a romantic comedy that doesn't really fit into the genre; maybe it's saying that the stories in typical romantic comedies aren't entirely real. Maybe in exagerating Barry's faults and the situations in the movie, PTA is kindof playing into this falseness or "cuteness" seen in most romantic comedies.
2) An Adam Sandler flick that will clearly disturb those devoted fans who flock to his movie. 3) great use of music, as I wrote earlier.

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#1 and #2 sound like you're giving the movie credit for NOT being something. For me, NOT being an Adam Sandler movie and NOT being a romantic comedy do not a good film make. #3- I can see, although I found the music to be excessive, even beyond the intended punch-drunk effect.

You and Barry have the same car? Maybe you'll end up with Emily Watson too!

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Originally posted by Sola



#1 and #2 sound like you're giving the movie credit for NOT being something. For me, NOT being an Adam Sandler movie and NOT being a romantic comedy do not a good film make. #3- I can see, although I found the music to be excessive, even beyond the intended punch-drunk effect.

You and Barry have the same car? Maybe you'll end up with Emily Watson too!

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OK, I've now had 2 message erased from trying to mess with this quote function. I'm worn out, but I'll try to rehash my argument once again.

PTA has created a movie that is both a romantic comedy and a criticism of romantic comedies at the same time. I see criticisms of the film that the characters aren't well developed, that Sandler's character is not cohesive. Well, most would agree that PTA in "Magnolia" and "Boogie Nights" did create coherent, believable chracters in real situations. I agree that this movie is different. So, was PTA simply off his game in this movie. Well, I think he did it on purpose, and that's what I like about the movie.

But, what's clever is not just the characters' lack of believablity, because that in of itself would be too easy to do. It's also the other ways that PTA stretched the limits of a romantic comedy. The music, for one, as already discussed. The fact that Barry flew to Hawaii on a whim just to be with her. Doesn't that go beyond "romantic" and become kindof strange. The fact that, apart from one conversation, Barry never asks her about herself or her background. Is this really a relationship that's going to work? Are the really going to live happily ever after?

Some people who see the movie love it simply as a romantic comedy (See Harry Knowles' blathering review on AICN.com). But, clearly PTA wasn't simply trying to create a standard romantic comedy. He was pushing the limits, pushing the buttons of the audience, in very interesting and unique ways. And, in that sense, it made the movie both intellecually stimulating as well as emotionally stimulating.

As for the '92 Buick LeSabre, it exudes class (and money). It's a babe magnet.

I'm not sure I understand what other viewers found particularly incomprehensible or inaccessible about this film. It was complicated in parts, and there were a few mysterious nits, granted, but I found it to be far more straightforward than "Magnolia," with a conclusion more immediate than "Boogie Nights." This isn't to say that I view "Punch Drunk Love" as being as good as the other two films.

There is much to recommend the film, though. It's not quite a romantic comedy and not quite something else, which in itself is remarkable -- I can't think of a single romantic comedy to compare to it in terms of tone. Here's a guy, Barry Egan, whose life is full of questions that are always answered, "I don't know." It stands to reason that Barry doesn't know much about himself at all -- why he has fits of rage, why he engages in strange obsessive behavior like the purchase of dozens of cups of pudding, and the like. The great irony of the character is that, while intensely self-absorbed, he is probably the least self-absorbed of his family -- his sisters are far worse, seemingly oblivious to anything occurring beyond them. The story is basically one of a character attempting to claim and define his identity. Barry is attempting to live up to the basic Delphic mandate: Know Thyself. There are a few nice symbolic touches along the way.

The strongest point in the film, for me, was the illustration of another aspect of southern Californian culture. Just as "Boogie Nights" shows us the adult industry in its golden age, and "Magnolia" shows us some of the complexities of dealing with entertainment, media and urban life in Los Angeles, so "Punch Drunk Love" illustrates a very lonely aspect of Californian life, ways in which people attempt to overcome that loneliness (e.g., work and phone sex), and the possibility for actually achieving harmony in such a place. As someone who spent two lonely years in southern California, Barry came across to me as very human. I take it back -- very obscurely, if I had to compare this film to a romantic comedy, it would be "LA Story."

That said, I didn't find this to be the strongest Anderson film. It lacked the clever visual work of "Boogie Nights" (e.g., the pool party scene early in the film) or "Magnolia" (too many visually clever scenes to name). It wasn't nearly as quotable as the earlier films -- after "Magnolia," I walked away with lines like, "It's dangerous to confuse children with angels." What does "Punch Drunk Love" leave us with? "Gay boy"? The characters, with the exception of Barry (in my opinion), were decidedly underdeveloped -- Lena, Barry's love interest is so ambiguous that we can't quite figure out if she's "normal" or just as obsessive as everyone else in the film. Everyone I know moaned about the length of other PTA films; I think "Punch Drunk Love" could have used a bit more length and development.

So basically, I don't feel the film was on par with Anderson's past films, which is to say that I don't think it's masterful, just original, interesting, well-paced, and possibly brilliant. I definitely need to see it again and study it.

Anyway, that's my two cents worth. I'm new here and just saw this film today, so I thought I'd say hello.