11 Great Movies For A First Date

3) Punch-Drunk Love

There are many Adam Sandler movies that are not advisable to watch on any date – let alone your first. Punch-Drunk Love, however, is the exception. This is a film that is not only Sandler’s best, but stands among the best in modern cinema – and that’s because it is a Paul Thomas Anderson movie.

With a story that is deceptively simple, and highly romantic, Punch-Drunk Love centres on Barry (Sandler) – a lonely, single man who runs a business making novelty items, and aims to take advantage of a loophole in a Healthy Choice food promotion, to gain a million frequent flyer miles by buying huge amounts of pudding. With little social life to speak of, he is consistently subjected to emotional abuse at the hands of his seven overbearing sisters – something that results in frequent bouts of uncontrollable rage.

Despite clear romantic interest in Lena – a friend of his sister – Barry is lacking in self-confidence, and seeks to temporarily alleviate his loneliness with a call to a phone-sex line. The call proves to be his undoing, as he leaves himself open to extortion – something made plain when he is attacked by four of the operator’s henchmen, from whom he runs away in fear. Barry follows Lena to Hawaii, where– after initially lying to her – he gradually begins to lay bare his emotional self for the first time, while keeping his extortion problem a secret. Returning home as a couple, they are attacked by the henchmen again – but this time, with Lena’s safety at risk, Barry fights back.

Suddenly finding himself with a loved one and relationship worth protecting, Barry allows his true sense of self to unfurl for the first time, without fear of recrimination, or emotional abuse. The reason for this blossoming is clear – he feels the security of the love of a good person – and what he finds at the end of his battle is unconditional love and acceptance.