Punch-Drunk Love is a 2002 American absurdist romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

He has seven overbearing sisters who regularly ridicule and emotionally abuse him, so he leads a lonely life punctuated by fits of rage and social anxiety.

One day, he witnesses an inexplicable car accident, picks up an abandoned harmonium from the street, and meets Lena Leonard (a coworker of Elizabeth, one of his sisters).

This complicates his budding relationship with Lena, as well as his plan to exploit a loophole in a Healthy Choice promotion and amass a million frequent-flyer miles by purchasing large quantities of pudding.

And Adam goes into this fit of rage, screaming at his father, and honest to God I saw this moment where it appears as if the whites of his eyes turn black and they roll back in his head.

[6] Anderson brought in the visual artist Jeremy Blake to create what the New York Times called "trippy, fluid sequences of abstract art" to use as transitions in the film.

Sandler was intimidated upon first viewing Magnolia, leading him to be "fucking terrified" and doubt his ability to carry Anderson's next film.

[20] Writing for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers felt the pairing of Anderson and Sandler was "parallel lines that meet triumphantly in a mesmerizer that stays true to both of their anarchic spirits," and praised the cast's performances, ultimately calling the film's effect "intoxicating.

"[21] Angie Errigo of Empire complimented Anderson's direction as "simply captivating and exquisitely controlled, with a restless mood and no end of fascinating, beautifully-orchestrated oddness," and said, "One of the joys of this film...is that you really have no idea what's going to happen next.

"[22] Daniel Fierman of Entertainment Weekly thought the film was a "meditation on true love, the ways in which we are all bizarre, the magic of the perfect match, and the preposterously unlikely nature of the whole enterprise.

"[23] The Los Angeles Times' Kenneth Turan stated that the film was "a comedy of discomfort and rage that turns unexpectedly sweet and pure.

"[24] Writing for Variety, Todd McCarthy said that "there is no mistaking the exceeding creativity that has gone into nearly every shot, transition, narrative choice and musical selection," and praised Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman's performances.

He also opined that "Sandler fans will probably take it as a lightweight, but agreeable enough, outing with slightly weird elements to it, while Anderson partisans could split between those who will revel in the thrill of his ongoing creative inventions and others who may find this light lifting between heavy workouts.

"[25] Charles Taylor of Salon.com described the film as a "manic-depressive romantic comedy that aspires to the soul of a musical," and complimented Anderson's direction, Christopher Scarabosio's sound design, and Jon Brion's score.

He believed that Anderson properly utilized the "threat of sudden, bellowing, red-faced rage" of Sandler's known comic persona in the film.

"[22] Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman said Sandler was "utterly winning to watch" and added that "he has become a tender and arresting presence, like a fusion of Chaplin’s Little Tramp, Woody Allen, and Edward Scissorhands.

The Criterion Collection released the film on Blu-ray in November 2016 with a restored HD transfer, the first time the company had done so for Anderson and Sandler.

[4] Filmmakers Francis Ford Coppola, Lee Unkrich, Judd Apatow, Kleber Mendonça, Miranda July, Bong Joon-ho, David Gordon Green, Guillermo del Toro, Jason Reitman, Isabel Sandoval, Barry Jenkins and Taika Waititi, and actors Brad Pitt, Bill Nighy, Owen Wilson, Javier Bardem, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cillian Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Austin Butler, Guy Pearce, Timothée Chalamet, and Andrew Scott have cited it as one of their favorite films.

[64] The two reunited in their first project since Punch-Drunk Love when Anderson helped film segments of Sandler's Netflix comedy special 100% Fresh (2018).

In a retrospective review following its 2017 release on Netflix, GQ's Miranda Popkey called the film "Adam Sandler's finest performance and P.T.

"[66] Far Out's Arun Starkey described Punch-Drunk Love as Sandler's "first true foray into auteur cinema" and "the first indicator of his prowess as an actor and shows that if he is given a good enough script that isn't shackled by the tropes of a mainstream genre, he can actually do very well at carrying a three-dimensional character onto the big screen.