Punch-drunk movie reviewers
Been meaning to post this for some time. Back when I was watching “Punch-Drunk Love” just about every day, I was reading a lot of reviews and such for it on the internet. I came upon this synopsis of the movie on some site I wish I could remember the name of, but I can’t. Still, I think it’s hilarious how many things are wrong with this small blurb:
Barry, the owner of a phone-sex business that is slowly failing, becomes obsessed with collecting pudding coupons that offer frequent flyer miles. He eventually earns enough to fly around the world. When he learns that a woman whom he had met by chance and about whom he cannot stop thinking has left for vacation in Hawaii, he uses the coupons for a trip to find her.
Did they see the movie? Any of it?
I think it’s a paean to the idea that mentally disturbed people, much like children, are blank canvasses upon which we can project anything we wish, which is of course far easier than paying attention. I think that’s what Punch Drunk Love is really all about: how the moment of drama is that moment in which we aren’t listening to the movie, but to ourselves. That can either come off as inspiration or insensitivity, depending on the outcome.
I counted at least nine problems with that blurb–each of which are wrong for at least three reasons.
Incredible.