You can go to places in the world with pudding.|Oct. 25, 2002|United States|96 Min.|R
Genre: Comedy;Drama;Romance
Description: Barry Egan, a bachelor running a business that sells themed toilet plungers and novelty items, leads a lonely life filled with bouts of rage and social anxiety, largely due to his seven overbearing sisters who constantly ridicule and emotionally abuse him. One day, after witnessing a strange car accident and picking up an abandoned harmonium, he meets Lena Leonard, a coworker of his sister Elizabeth. Lena had arranged the encounter after seeing Barry in a family picture at Elizabeth’s workplace. Despite his struggles, Barry attends his sister’s birthday party, where their teasing about his sexuality triggers a violent outburst, resulting in him breaking a sliding glass door. Seeking help, he asks his brother-in-law for a therapist referral but instead calls a phone sex line to cope with his loneliness. This decision backfires when the operators attempt to extort money and send four brothers to intimidate him.
Amid these challenges, Barry tries to build a relationship with Lena while also exploiting a Healthy Choice promotion loophole to accumulate frequent flyer miles by purchasing large amounts of pudding. When Lena travels to Hawaii for work, Barry follows her, using his sister to locate her. Lena is thrilled to see him, and their bond deepens despite interference from Barry’s sister. Their romance offers Barry a sense of relief from his long-standing emotional isolation.
However, their return trip is disrupted when the four brothers attack Barry’s car, slightly injuring Lena. After fending them off with a tire iron, Barry leaves Lena at the hospital and takes decisive action to end the harassment. He confronts the phone sex line operator, discovering that the “supervisor” owns a mattress store in Provo, Utah. Barry travels there to face the owner, Dean, who initially tries to intimidate him but is taken aback by Barry’s determination and the distance he has traveled. The story concludes as Barry asserts himself, defending his newfound happiness and standing up to those who sought to exploit him.
Cast director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast actor: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzmán, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Robert Smigel, Jason Andrews, Don McManus, David Schrempf, Seann Conway
Original name: Punch-Drunk Love