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Punch-Drunk Love

Punch-Drunk Love

Romance · Drama · Comedy · 2002

A socially awkward and volatile small business owner meets the love of his life after being threatened by a gang of scammers.

Movie details

Punch-Drunk Love

“I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine.”

2002 Romance · Drama · Comedy 1h 36m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

A socially awkward and volatile small business owner meets the love of his life after being threatened by a gang of scammers.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Punch-Drunk Love?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Paul Thomas Anderson

Written by

Paul Thomas Anderson

Adam Sandler

Adam Sandler

Barry Egan

Emily Watson

Emily Watson

Lena Leonard

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Dean Trumbell

Luis Guzmán

Luis Guzmán

Lance

Mary Lynn Rajskub

Mary Lynn Rajskub

Elizabeth Egan

Robert Smigel

Robert Smigel

Walter the Dentist

Jason Andrews

Jason Andrews

Operator Carter (voice)

Court is in session

Put Punch-Drunk Love on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.