A Journey Into The Psyche Of Adam Sandler
Where to start. Well, first, a note about the director. Paul Thomas Anderson, in his third feature film, seems to be developing a penchant for the odd and random. But then, when your full length film debut is a pic about porn, where do you really go from there? Well, one option might be an over-the-top artsy film featuring a huge ensemble cast, more plotlines than the average moviegoer is willing to tolerate, and frogs falling from the sky. For his third film, Anderson made a character study, if you will. Punch Drunk Love is a journey into the psyche of Adam Sandler.
It’s got all of the elements from Sandler’s best known films, but taken from a more realistic perspective. Unlike most Adam Sandler films, this one is set in a bit more realistic world, where crude behavior and rage blackouts are not considered to be acceptable behavior. Sure, the characters in the movie are caricatures of your average human being, but their behavior is not presented as a picture of normalcy. The story takes place in a “”real world” setting, and therefore, the characters’ actions seem more exaggerated, more odd. When you start with a white canvas, bright colors stand out more.
Awkwardness.
Adam Sandler has always played awkward well. Really well. And usually it’s funny. Who doesn’t laugh when a grown man speaks gibberish, or hallucinates oversized penguins drinking cocktails? However, in Punch Drunk Love, Anderson gives us a reason for the behavior. He has seven nagging sisters. Sure, he’s still socially awkward, but now at least we have some sort of explanation for it. Barry Egan has what could be construed as a sort of clinical depression, hence the loneliness and the crying. And in a completely new twist, he recognizes that there is something wrong, that somehow he is not quite right. Most of Sandler’s films don’t attempt to explain the behavior for two reasons. One is that most of his films are comedies that are meant to be taken at face value, and forgotten once you leave the theater. Not much point in pondering the existential values of Happy Gilmore. However, Punch Drunk Love is a film with a bit more depth to it, so these issues must be addressed. The other is that people have come to expect this kind of behavior, because for the most part, Sandler plays the same character all the time. Adam Sandler, at this point in his career, has become a household name, and his character and all of his strange quirks are somewhat familiar to the average moviegoer.
Rage.
It’s a part of just about every Adam Sandler movie ever made. The part in which he flies off the handle. Why not? It’s funny. Some of the deepest, hardest laughs are produced in reaction to people fighting with opponents they really shouldn’t be fighting, like animals or the elderly. But in Punch Drunk Love, for the first time, this pattern is seen realistically, as a problem. Instead of the usual comedic effect, it makes you realize that, wow, this guy has issues. And again, it stems from the fact that this film takes place in a more realistic setting, where rules of civil conduct are followed a bit less loosely. Kicking in a sliding glass door or tearing apart a public bathroom are not behaviors that are considered to be acceptable. It is all too obvious that Mr. Egan has a hard time expressing himself, as well as severe anger management problems. He has seven sisters who treat him as an outcast and take every opportunity to demean him, and it is apparent that growing up in this kind of atmosphere has stunted his social and emotional growth. It is only after he finds love that he begins to focus his anger towards protecting the woman he loves, rather than destroying the things around him. So in this film, we are able to see more clearly the problem, but also a possible solution, where other films fail to address the issue.
Phone Humor.
To truly delve into the psyche of Adam Sandler, one must also consider his comedic career. And to this end, Paul Thomas Anderson is no slouch. Using material that parallels Sandler’s professional discography, Anderson is able to show us a different side of the characters. In his albums, Adam Sandler often uses telephone based humor featuring phone sex or just general insult comedy. Rarely used in his films, this type of phone humor is helpful in showing us another side of the characters, as they act a bit different when connected by telephone. His sisters seem more abrasive on the phone. For the most part, though, the phone sequences are used to show an important part of the Sandler character, that being that he is a timid man who, not knowing how to release his pent up emotions, is sitting on the edge of an explosion of hostility.
Dance.
One aspect of the Adam Sandler character that remains intact and untouched, is the Sandler Dance. Used in several of his movies, Sandler’s little “happy dance” is used, to the same effect. Finger wagging and all. The socially awkward Barry Egan, just like his predecessors, dances a curious little dance, obviously of his own design, conceived on the spot by a man who, throughout his life, hasn’t had much reason to dance.
Conclusion.
The psychological profile of the Adam Sandler character portrayed in film is a complex one. A man with fairly low self-esteem, who finds it hard to connect with people. He suffers from a crippling inability to show emotion, and as a result is constantly on the verge of either a blackout or a breakdown. Deep down he is a sensitive, caring person, full of curiosity and desperation, but with a pinch of “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!” At the conclusion of the film, we have our expected happy ending, but with a deeper and more fulfilling feeling, because not only did he get the girl, but he now seems to be on a healthy path towards normalcy. Not the usual cheering from an adoring crowd, but rather a quiet, personal triumph. The cheering is implied.