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Review: Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
This was kind of a romantic comedy movie but I can’t figure out what to make of it. It was okay and I enjoyed some parts of it, but at the base of it, I also found the story a bit uncomfortable because of pieces here and there.
Spoilers.
Story
Barry Egan was a very anxious man living in oppressive circumstances. He was a bit shy and awkward and he was struggling a bit in his business. He had seven extremely overbearing sisters who would bully him a lot, leading to him having outbursts of anger because he had no way to retaliate against the bullying. He tried to seek a psychiatrist but in the meantime he called a phone sex line hoping for someone to just listen.
One of Barry’s sisters Elizabeth wanted to introduce Barry to a coworker called Lena. Barry was dodging the introduction until Elizabeth ambushed him. He found out that Lena was actually a woman he had met earlier who had asked him to give the keys of her car to the mechanic as she was in a rush. During the introduction, Barry started getting threatening phone calls from the phone sex line operator trying to extort him for money. At the same time, the stock in the warehouse was tumbling over. So Barry had a very rough time having a focused conversation with Lena. Nonetheless, after things quieted down, Lena asked Barry on a date. They went on a nice dinner date. However, Lena brought up an embarrassing story about Barry that Elizabeth had told her. Barry became enraged and trashed the washroom in the restaurant resulting in them getting kicked out. Nonetheless, it was a good gate. It was revealed that Lena had seen a picture of Barry before and had staged handing off her keys to him as an excuse to meet him. And when they parted at night, she called him back and they shared a kiss.
The phone sex operator sent henchmen to threaten Barry and he was forced to hand over money. Seeing as how Lena was going to Hawaii for business, Barry was thinking of going to Hawaii to be with her and to escape the scammers. He tried to buy tons of pudding to redeem frequent traveller points but they couldn’t be redeemed that fast so he had to spend his own money. Nonetheless, he made it to Hawaii and Barry and Lena reunited and had their romantic getaway. Before returning,
When they returned, the henchmen crashed into Barry and Lena’s car, sending Lena to the hospital with mild injuries. Barry went to Utah to personally threaten Dean, the man behind the phone sex operator scam. That seemed to quell Dean and Barry returned. He apologized to Lena for leaving her at the hospital, and explained the truth to her about the phone sex line. He then asked her to wait for him to redeem his frequent flyer points so that he could join her as she travelled around the world for work.
This was a romantic comedy but it was focused on Barry as he grew to be a more confident person who would reach out and get what he wanted. On one hand, I appreciated the portrayals of Barry in a very suffocating environment where he was constantly bullied by everyone around him. I appreciated those portrayals of vulnerability. However, I’m not sure how I feel about the story line of Barry become an alpha male and his romance with Lena.
I guess I can justify that Barry had nowhere to direct his anger and frustration so he would act out. Nobody would listen to him and see him for him. All of his sisters would bully him and make fun of him. Lena was the first person to actually listen to what he was saying and to appreciate him. I think Barry became calmer when he found a direction, which was being with Lena, and being the kind of person who deserved to be with Lena. The climax of the movie with Barry confronting Dean and directing his anger and aggression towards him felt more like a symbolic gesture of Barry finally standing up for himself, channelling his anger in a way that would improve himself and protect those he loved. In real life this shit would not fly because Dean and his henchmen would jump Barry but seeing it as a sort of dream state was the only way I could take it seriously.
I think the romance was a bit shallow because Lena had already started off having fallen head over heals in love at first sight with Barry. All that from a picture? Unrealistic. I could maybe justify that as being a plot device to speed up the romance with Lena already being in love with Barry. But at the same time, it feels like a male-centric for Barry to have a beautiful woman who is in love with him show up at his doorstep. I won’t say this never happens, but it feels a bit eye-rolly, a bit leaning towards the trope of ‘all men deserve a beautiful woman.’ So that’s why I struggle to settle with this story. But I can understand that maybe this trope was more accepted back in those days of yore in 2002.
Overall I appreciate the logical sequence of the story I guess. Not for me on an emotional level though.
Production
I did think the movie looked good. There were lots of scenes that were very prettily framed. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised abut good framing from a good director in Anderson. I also appreciated the portrayals in the earlier parts of the movie where Barry would constantly be bombarded by a million things at once that would overwhelm him and make him more anxious. They made me anxious too.
Characters
Barry Egan
Barry was our main and central character. He lived his life constantly avoiding his overbearing and frankly scary sisters. They constantly brought up his embarrassing moments that he wanted to get past. They never listened to him, and they never sympathized with him. Even when he tried to reach out for help through his brother-in-law Walter, that news got back to his sisters and he felt ridiculed. He obviously kept the phone sex line business private from his sisters because that was even more embarrassing.
Things changed when Lena reached out to him. It was very stressful when Lena was with Elizabeth because Elizabeth was always very direct and blunt which was uncomfortable for Barry sometimes. So after Elizabeth left, Lena went back to ask Barry out for dinner, which was a lot more relaxing and comfortable of a scenario for Barry to agree to. At the date, Barry spoke and for once he was listened to as a person. He wasn’t spoken over by his sisters, he wasn’t a struggling businessman trying to finagle his way into a business deal. She listened to him speak about his stories, the radio show he liked, things that made him laugh. She made him feel comfortable. However, when she brought up the story from Elizabeth about Barry throwing the hammer through the window, he suddenly felt like he was being around his sister again and he acted out. Nonetheless, he overall enjoyed his time with Lena, and he eagerly returned her feelings.
The threats from the phone sex line operator were very scary and he wanted to escape to avoid them. Going to Hawaii would be hitting two birds with one stone since he could have his honeymoon period with Lena then. And they did have their honeymoon period. When they returned and Lena was hurt, that struck a nerve with Barry. He sought out Dean and threatened him back and that seemed to scare him off.
Afterwards he went back to Lena and apologized for leaving her when she was hurt in the hospital and he came clean with her. He did that because he felt comfortable with her, because Lena never made fun of him for his quirks or the way he would go off on long trains of thought. She understood that that was just how he processed his feelings and thoughts. And now that I think about it, I appreciate that Barry didn’t really change who he was. He just found a purpose and was now able to channel his energy more appropriately into being a better person who could accompany Lena.
Lena Leonard
I did think Lena fell a bit into the trap of eager female love interest mostly because she had already started the movie being madly in love with Barry which was very unrealistic. Did Lena fully fantasize what Barry would be like from a photo alone? I don’t think it was unrealistic for Lena to have wanted to meet Barry for dinner after the time at the warehouse. But I guess Lena moved far faster than I would have expected from most women.
I will say though, Lena perfectly cushioned Barry. While Barry opened up when talking to Lena, I can’t say that I learned anything about Lena other than that she travelled a lot for work, and that she liked everything about Barry. What kind of woman was she? What were her hobbies? We knew very little about her.
But I did appreciate the ways we saw her being a safe place for Barry. Like I said, she was truly interested in Barry and she was very patient with him when he went on his segues. When they were in Hawaii and Lena spoke with Elizabeth on the phone she hid their relationship from Elizabeth which I also felt was out of respect to Barry because Lena understood that Barry was suffocated by his sisters. At the end of the movie, I appreciated that it was Barry who was now trying to be that safe place for Lena, to be her home, to be her family, seeing as how Lena said she grew up without much family and envied Barry a bit for having such a big family.
Themes
I guess the overall theme was just Barry finding where to put his energy. He was always kind of aimless at the beginning. He didn’t know how to grow his business, he was trying to make money (with the frequent flyer points), he had no friends. Lena was the first thing that really made him feel life was worth living. Barry learned how to put his skills into being someone who could complement Lena, who could be her companion.
Overall
I think I talked my way into accepting this movie. While at first the tropes bothered me a bit, I came to accept that Barry was trying to improve himself as a person.
Spoilers.
Story
Barry Egan was a very anxious man living in oppressive circumstances. He was a bit shy and awkward and he was struggling a bit in his business. He had seven extremely overbearing sisters who would bully him a lot, leading to him having outbursts of anger because he had no way to retaliate against the bullying. He tried to seek a psychiatrist but in the meantime he called a phone sex line hoping for someone to just listen.
One of Barry’s sisters Elizabeth wanted to introduce Barry to a coworker called Lena. Barry was dodging the introduction until Elizabeth ambushed him. He found out that Lena was actually a woman he had met earlier who had asked him to give the keys of her car to the mechanic as she was in a rush. During the introduction, Barry started getting threatening phone calls from the phone sex line operator trying to extort him for money. At the same time, the stock in the warehouse was tumbling over. So Barry had a very rough time having a focused conversation with Lena. Nonetheless, after things quieted down, Lena asked Barry on a date. They went on a nice dinner date. However, Lena brought up an embarrassing story about Barry that Elizabeth had told her. Barry became enraged and trashed the washroom in the restaurant resulting in them getting kicked out. Nonetheless, it was a good gate. It was revealed that Lena had seen a picture of Barry before and had staged handing off her keys to him as an excuse to meet him. And when they parted at night, she called him back and they shared a kiss.
The phone sex operator sent henchmen to threaten Barry and he was forced to hand over money. Seeing as how Lena was going to Hawaii for business, Barry was thinking of going to Hawaii to be with her and to escape the scammers. He tried to buy tons of pudding to redeem frequent traveller points but they couldn’t be redeemed that fast so he had to spend his own money. Nonetheless, he made it to Hawaii and Barry and Lena reunited and had their romantic getaway. Before returning,
When they returned, the henchmen crashed into Barry and Lena’s car, sending Lena to the hospital with mild injuries. Barry went to Utah to personally threaten Dean, the man behind the phone sex operator scam. That seemed to quell Dean and Barry returned. He apologized to Lena for leaving her at the hospital, and explained the truth to her about the phone sex line. He then asked her to wait for him to redeem his frequent flyer points so that he could join her as she travelled around the world for work.
This was a romantic comedy but it was focused on Barry as he grew to be a more confident person who would reach out and get what he wanted. On one hand, I appreciated the portrayals of Barry in a very suffocating environment where he was constantly bullied by everyone around him. I appreciated those portrayals of vulnerability. However, I’m not sure how I feel about the story line of Barry become an alpha male and his romance with Lena.
I guess I can justify that Barry had nowhere to direct his anger and frustration so he would act out. Nobody would listen to him and see him for him. All of his sisters would bully him and make fun of him. Lena was the first person to actually listen to what he was saying and to appreciate him. I think Barry became calmer when he found a direction, which was being with Lena, and being the kind of person who deserved to be with Lena. The climax of the movie with Barry confronting Dean and directing his anger and aggression towards him felt more like a symbolic gesture of Barry finally standing up for himself, channelling his anger in a way that would improve himself and protect those he loved. In real life this shit would not fly because Dean and his henchmen would jump Barry but seeing it as a sort of dream state was the only way I could take it seriously.
I think the romance was a bit shallow because Lena had already started off having fallen head over heals in love at first sight with Barry. All that from a picture? Unrealistic. I could maybe justify that as being a plot device to speed up the romance with Lena already being in love with Barry. But at the same time, it feels like a male-centric for Barry to have a beautiful woman who is in love with him show up at his doorstep. I won’t say this never happens, but it feels a bit eye-rolly, a bit leaning towards the trope of ‘all men deserve a beautiful woman.’ So that’s why I struggle to settle with this story. But I can understand that maybe this trope was more accepted back in those days of yore in 2002.
Overall I appreciate the logical sequence of the story I guess. Not for me on an emotional level though.
Production
I did think the movie looked good. There were lots of scenes that were very prettily framed. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised abut good framing from a good director in Anderson. I also appreciated the portrayals in the earlier parts of the movie where Barry would constantly be bombarded by a million things at once that would overwhelm him and make him more anxious. They made me anxious too.
Characters
Barry Egan
Barry was our main and central character. He lived his life constantly avoiding his overbearing and frankly scary sisters. They constantly brought up his embarrassing moments that he wanted to get past. They never listened to him, and they never sympathized with him. Even when he tried to reach out for help through his brother-in-law Walter, that news got back to his sisters and he felt ridiculed. He obviously kept the phone sex line business private from his sisters because that was even more embarrassing.
Things changed when Lena reached out to him. It was very stressful when Lena was with Elizabeth because Elizabeth was always very direct and blunt which was uncomfortable for Barry sometimes. So after Elizabeth left, Lena went back to ask Barry out for dinner, which was a lot more relaxing and comfortable of a scenario for Barry to agree to. At the date, Barry spoke and for once he was listened to as a person. He wasn’t spoken over by his sisters, he wasn’t a struggling businessman trying to finagle his way into a business deal. She listened to him speak about his stories, the radio show he liked, things that made him laugh. She made him feel comfortable. However, when she brought up the story from Elizabeth about Barry throwing the hammer through the window, he suddenly felt like he was being around his sister again and he acted out. Nonetheless, he overall enjoyed his time with Lena, and he eagerly returned her feelings.
The threats from the phone sex line operator were very scary and he wanted to escape to avoid them. Going to Hawaii would be hitting two birds with one stone since he could have his honeymoon period with Lena then. And they did have their honeymoon period. When they returned and Lena was hurt, that struck a nerve with Barry. He sought out Dean and threatened him back and that seemed to scare him off.
Afterwards he went back to Lena and apologized for leaving her when she was hurt in the hospital and he came clean with her. He did that because he felt comfortable with her, because Lena never made fun of him for his quirks or the way he would go off on long trains of thought. She understood that that was just how he processed his feelings and thoughts. And now that I think about it, I appreciate that Barry didn’t really change who he was. He just found a purpose and was now able to channel his energy more appropriately into being a better person who could accompany Lena.
Lena Leonard
I did think Lena fell a bit into the trap of eager female love interest mostly because she had already started the movie being madly in love with Barry which was very unrealistic. Did Lena fully fantasize what Barry would be like from a photo alone? I don’t think it was unrealistic for Lena to have wanted to meet Barry for dinner after the time at the warehouse. But I guess Lena moved far faster than I would have expected from most women.
I will say though, Lena perfectly cushioned Barry. While Barry opened up when talking to Lena, I can’t say that I learned anything about Lena other than that she travelled a lot for work, and that she liked everything about Barry. What kind of woman was she? What were her hobbies? We knew very little about her.
But I did appreciate the ways we saw her being a safe place for Barry. Like I said, she was truly interested in Barry and she was very patient with him when he went on his segues. When they were in Hawaii and Lena spoke with Elizabeth on the phone she hid their relationship from Elizabeth which I also felt was out of respect to Barry because Lena understood that Barry was suffocated by his sisters. At the end of the movie, I appreciated that it was Barry who was now trying to be that safe place for Lena, to be her home, to be her family, seeing as how Lena said she grew up without much family and envied Barry a bit for having such a big family.
Themes
I guess the overall theme was just Barry finding where to put his energy. He was always kind of aimless at the beginning. He didn’t know how to grow his business, he was trying to make money (with the frequent flyer points), he had no friends. Lena was the first thing that really made him feel life was worth living. Barry learned how to put his skills into being someone who could complement Lena, who could be her companion.
Overall
I think I talked my way into accepting this movie. While at first the tropes bothered me a bit, I came to accept that Barry was trying to improve himself as a person.