Punch-Drunk Love
Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 37
  3. Negative: 2 out of 37
view
per page
  1. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    38
    Punch-Drunk Love buries a terrific performance by Adam Sandler under a heap of faux cleverness, meaningless symbolism and irritating mannerisms.
  2. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    25
    Essentially a weird series of nonsequiturs. I'd rather be watching a sequel to the much-maligned "Little Nicky" -- a Sandler film that was at least trying to do something interesting -- than this failed experiment in fusing high and low culture.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 189 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 111
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 111
  3. Negative: 41 out of 111
  1. JacintaG.
    4
    I'm all for slow, quirky films- but this was a complete bore. It's a crap movie. There was a peep or brilliance shining through at some point, but was squashed flat by the non-existent a plot. Don't waste your money.… Full Review »
  2. DrewD.
    10
    It is really a testament to the sadness of America that half of them cannot appreciate a film like this. Most of them just think it is dumb--they say it is "disjointed" or that the leads have "no chemistry". This is what doing nothing but watching TV and standard Hollywood films does to your brain: you can't understand real human relationships (which are not "explainable" and are in fact "random", at least for most of us), you can't empathize with those who clearly have some sort of disorder, and can't figure out the unity of an actually pretty straightforward film, by artistic cinematic standards. Then, perhaps even worse, there are a group who recognize that they can't understand the film, but are too proud to admit it and accuse the film of being "pretentious" and full of "fake symbolism". I am not surprised though, that those who were expecting a standard Adam Sandler film, where you are supposed to laugh at someone who is different, didn't like this film, where you are supposed to feel for someone who is different. A shame.… Full Review »
  3. Movie1997
    10
    This is no Adam Sandler movie. This is a work of art. Punch-Drunk Love was a very engaging movie to watch. Watching Adam Sandler go from his brain-dead comedies to giving a tremendous performance as Barry Egan still amazes me today. That right there is one of the biggest reasons why this movie is just tremendous. Adam really gives you the performance of a lifetime. Also, the storyline works together beautifully. Plus, alongside Adam's outstanding performance is Philip Seymour Hoffman who once again gives a great performance in P.T. Anderson movie. The story also has some great screenplay. Honestly, i didn't think the movie was going to be half as good as I thought it was going to be, but boy was I wrong. Overall, it's underrated P.T. Anderson and Adam Sandler movie that needs more recognition.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »