From the very first shot, though, you know this isn't a typical Adam Sandler movie. In an opening that evokes both Jacques Tati and David Lynch, we see Sandler in a not particularly distinguished-looking suit, on the phone in an empty warehouse space. He then goes outside and observes a pink-clouded twilight-or is it sunrise?-the eerie peace of which is abruptly shattered (you'll have to see it to find out how), after which a cab pulls up and someone deposits a harmonium directly in front of Sandler.

Yes. Strange. Sandler's Barry is a novelty toilet-goods manufacturer-salesman blessed with seven horrific sisters who delight in recollecting how they tormented him as a child and then chastise him for not dating more. Punch-Drunk Love is the story of how Barry finds the title condition, with a sweet-natured young woman (Emily Watson) who's determined to break through Barry's shyness. The story encompasses the purchase of enormous amounts of pudding, blackmailers from Provo, Utah, and a trip to Hawaii.

Sandler has said that playing the role of Barry didn't seem like a departure for him at all, and he's right; the character is basically just a slight variation on the Sandler persona from, say, Billy Madison-the good-hearted naïf with anger-management issues. The way Anderson uses that persona, though, is as inspired as Martin Scorsese's use of Jerry Lewis in The King of Comedy. One could call Punch-Drunk Love an Adam Sandler movie for people who hate Adam Sandler movies, but I'd prefer to think that it'll attract a lot of people who love Adam Sandler movies-maybe it'll broaden their horizons.

--Glenn Kenny