During the press conference for Magnolia at the Cannes Film Festival, Paul Thomas Anderson announced his next project was going to be an Adam Sandler comedy. Everybody laughed. Nobody took him seriously; after all, this was the man who had directed two incredibly large and challenging films in Boogie Nights and Magnolia. Three years later when Punch Drunk Love was released, people were still surprised.
Admittedly, I have never liked Adam Sandler – I always found him annoying and grating – and I have never liked him in anything since this film either, which is a great shame as Paul Thomas Anderson manages to channel all of Sandler’s awfully annoying qualities into something powerful and unique. Sandler’s screen persona is childish, immature, crass and strange, but Anderson’s genius here is that he works all that into this darkly twisted romantic comedy-drama. With a great director and electric screenplay, Sandler comes alive in ways that were unimaginable before. Sandler reveals a peculiar depth to the character of Barry Egan – a sharp menace that is present in his comedies, but is fully exploited to great effect here.
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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?
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