In one of the film’s climactic moments, when Sandler faces off against the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who Sandler thought shared some acting DNA with his former “Saturday Night Live” co-star Chris Farley, it seems like that underlying violence could explode into something dangerous — maybe even fatal. Instead, Hoffman’s character backs down when he realizes the extreme lengths Barry will go to get Hoffman and his cronies out of his life. Extremity is at the core of Sandler’s performance here, whether it reveals itself in explosive moments of letting his pent-up energy escape or in quiet scenes like the one where Barry and Lena talk about how they’re so in love with each other that they want to smash each other’s faces in. (It’s an odd movie!)
While his later roles required varying levels of explosiveness from the actor, more than 20 years later, this performance still remains the best dramatic work of Sandler’s entire career.
We spoke about Sandler’s “Punch-Drunk Love” performance and the rest of his work as a dramatic actor on today’s episode of the /Film Daily podcast, which also touched on Sandler’s new Netflix film, “Spaceman.” Check it out below:
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For more about the Sandman, check out our list of Adam Sandler’s best roles, ranked.
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