MovieChat Forums > Punch-Drunk Love (2002) Discussion > What the hell is going on in this movie?

What the hell is going on in this movie?

posted 11 years ago by GuyWhoSezThatsNotGood
7 replies | jump to latest

LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie. Never really realized until I rewatched it this morning. However, I have some questions that perhaps the more experienced and perceptive among us may be able to answer:

1. What's with the recurring car crash motif?
2. What's with the piano/harmonium? I guess it, like, symbolizes him finding his heart, which is why he gives it to Emily Watson?
3. What's with that weird blue suit?
4. What's going on with the pudding? See below.

The weird thing about the pudding is: first Sandler flies to Hawaii. Then he flies to Utah with the phone still in his hand. And I'm asking myself, "how can he afford this? Isn't he living on a modest budget?" And then I remember the pudding and I'm like "Okay, I guess he's paying for all these trips with the pudding." But then PTA reminds you that he can't redeem the pudding for six weeks. So why even have the pudding there in the first place?

[–] cthulhulurks 11 years ago

Discovers his heart, the center of emotions... Unemotional, had he been before that? Yeah, the gay boy throws a hammer through a door and his mum takes him to a hospital, that's pretty unemotional.

my vote history:
http://www.imdb.com/user/ur13767631/ratings

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] GuyWhoSezThatsNotGood 11 years ago

That analysis was pretty brilliant.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] pepetoony (1534) 5 years ago

Also what's with the moving truck that keeps appearing? I noticed the chick he likes has moving boxes in her apartment with the same moving company printed on them as was printed on the trucks.

[–] ecarle (14979) 2 years ago

But then PTA reminds you that he can't redeem the pudding for six weeks. So why even have the pudding there in the first place?

--

Sandler has to part with his own cash for the trips to Hawaii and Utah, but they are vitally important to him...he has to confront and vanquish the villain(PSH) and win the girl(Emily) though not in that order.

But as he points out to Emily in his final heartfelt reach for her heart, the millions of air miles that the pudding purchases WILL give him are miles he will use to fly with her wherever she flies, whenever she flies. He will give up his job(I assume) to travel with her, and make a different life with her.

A lot of the rest is unexplained, symbolic and subject to multiple interpretations. This is an art film.

[–] Information-Police (4016) 2 years ago

3. It's just a blue suit, there's nothing weird about it. His sister makes a big deal about it because she's psychotic and manipulative.