It used to be that critics would use the excuse that Adam Sandler was “used well” by great filmmakers such as Paul Thomas Anderson, The Safdies and Noah Baumbach, but can we just finally acknowledge how utterly effective he is as a dramatic actor? Hell, I think it’s time to say that he is, in fact, a great actor.
In a recent episode of Happy Sad Confused, “TÁR” filmmaker Todd Field admitted that he regarded Sandler’s performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Punch-Drunk Love” as one of the greatest feats of acting that he’s ever seen:
“The first film of Adam’s I ever saw was Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Punch Drunk Love. It floored me. It really is one of the great screen performances — for me — of all time, and obviously, the stuff he has done with the Safdies is amazing, and as you mentioned, the stuff he did with James L. Brooks and Noah Baumbach. He has an incredible range; there’s no one like him.”
It’s most definitely a great performance. A lot of eyebrows were raised when PTA cast Sandler in the role, Sandler had never really done a “serious” role in his career and was coming off making goofy comedies such as “Happy Gilmore,” “Billy Madison,” and “The Waterboy.”
“Punch-Drunk Love” competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes 2002. It finished 46th on our Best Films of the 2000s Critics Poll. I would have placed it a little higher than that — it’s a great, surreal rom-com that defied the conventions that came with that genre. And yes, Sandler was sublime in the lead role.