5 Great Performances By Infamously Bad Actors

4) Adam Sandler In Punch-Drunk Love

I’ve seen a few interviews with Adam Sandler, and he always seems to come across a humble, genuine guy. But when he’s on screen there’s an ugliness that simmers underneath every performance, a poisonous anger that’s often passed off as comedy channeled through slapstick.  Punch-Drunk Love however is further evidence of director Paul Thomas Anderson getting the best out of his performers – utilizing the strange, seething rage that lingers under every Sandler showcase and funnelling it into a dark, offbeat drama.

Sandler plays Barry Egan, a man who owns a toilet-cleaning product company. But instead of diving into scatological humour with a barrage of irritating, squeaky voices, the actor remains disciplined in the role, superbly conveying a lonely man who fitfully bursts into scenes of angry violence when nobody else is around.

It’s a tricky part to play, but Sandler gets it just right, and Punch-Drunk Love remains an intriguing, peculiar, and darkly comic entry into the comedian’s filmography that he has yet to surpass in terms of performance.