by
Paul Fischer
Hollywood superstar Adam Sandler
is unaccustomed to talking to the print media, yet 
this
time around -- promoting a very atypical film, Punch-Drunk Love
-- directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Sandler has decided
to buck tradition. At the Toronto Film Festival where the actor arrived
in navy blue T-shirt and jeans, the actor seemed remarkably comfortable
talking to the press, given his reluctance to do print interviews "just
because I used to be misquoted all the time." This time around, Sandler
seemed more than comfortable, talking with a clear passion about a film
that many initially considered an odd combination: The star of Happy
Gilmore and Mr Deeds with the director of Boogie Nights
and Magnolia? It seemed a stretch but Sandler isn't concerned.
"I know that people and friends thought initially it was weird, but I
just wanted to work with tis director" who wrote the script specifically
with Sandler in mind.
In Punch-Drunk Love, Sandler is Barry Egan, a
small business owner with seven sisters whose abuse has kept him alone
and unable to fall in love. When a harmonium and a mysterious woman (Emily
Watson) enter his life, his romantic journey begins, but not
before his attempt at phone sex brings with it danger and violence. There
are moments throughout the film, during which Sandler's performance is
both ferocious, and sweet. The actor seemed comfortable tapping into both
extremes, he laughingly admits. "In real life I'm a little nuts and I
can also be a bit sweet at times. I know that on occasion my family has
asked me to leave Every day that I would show up on the set and I'd see
what scene we were doing, I'd say to myself: Now that's the mood I'm going
to be in today, it's a mood I've been in before, so I'd just do it. It
just seemed natural to me." 
Yet somehow, for Sandler of fans, Punch-Drunk Love is a departure from his very mainstream comedies that have come before it. "Departure suggests that I'm somehow movin' on from something," he argues. "I just did a movie with a guy who I think is an incredible filmmaker, and I played a role which I thought was a great part and one that would be a challenge for me to do." Sandler adds that he remains "proud of the movies I have done before but this experience was incredible and I do want to continue to challenge myself with guys like Paul." Now 36, it was 10 years since he made Billy Madison here in Toronto, and while he had a great time shooting his first major film comedy, "I still have the need to stretch myself anyway I can."
In playing a character who gets into trouble utilising a phone sex service, Sandler cheerfully denies using such a service as part of his research. "Paul did all the research for me. Every time I tried to call him, he'd tell me he was on the other line asked me to wait for two minutes."
Sandler's 'stretch' doing this film has paid off, with critics
all agreeing that this is by far Sandler's best work thus far. 
Yet
in the past, even Sandler concedes that he hasn't exactly been the critics'
favourite. Yet the actor insists that the desire for some kind of long
awaited critical approval was never a factor in his decision to do Punch-Drunk
Love. "I remember when I was making Billy Madison, I was
thinking: This'll be fun when it comes out, they actually write something
about you and my parents will read it," he recalls. After all, he says,
the last time he "made it in print" was in eighth grade "when I made the
honour roll." But that positive feedback Sandler was expecting didn't
come to pass. "All of a sudden I woke up, read the paper and was shocked.
I had no idea they were going to come after me and hate me." It shook
up the young actor, but not discouraged, he "called up my friends and
asked them what they were writing about me there. Oh, them too, huh?"
Sandler remains philosophical about the critics, recalling that when he
first started doing stand-up, the critics and audiences rejected him even
then. "I've been hit a bunch of times and I'm alright with that. I know
" he says emphatically. "Sure, critics generally object to what I do,
but it can't hurt me that much if in my head, I wanted to make movies
that Eddie Murphy did when I was a kid. Now doling a movie with Paul,
I realise, critically, that people have said nice stuff which is a new
thing for me. I'm just glad that my father can finally read something
about me and go: Eh, right," he quips.
Critical favourite or not, Adam has remained on top of his comic profession
for over a decade. Discovered as a 17-year old stand-up comedian, TV's
Saturday Night Live cemented his comic career. While it has been
movies that finally turned Sandler into a major star, he admits that,
like his mentor Robin Williams, he may eventually return
to his stand-up roots. "It was a great deal doing stand-up and performing
in front of a live crowd and I miss that. I work with movies and it's
very time consuming but at least twice a week I do think about it.
Hopefully I'll get to do that, even though I have no idea what I'd talk
about right now."
While Sandler's younger fans may find themselves excluded from his harder-edged
Punch-Drunk Love, they need not despair. After all, his classic
Chanukah Song is heading to the big screen this December, a project just
a tad different from the Anderson film. "The next movie is called 8
Crazy Nights, it's animated and it's a fun film with music and a
lot of jokes. I've been working on it for the last three years and I'm
very proud of it." It seems that Adam Sandler has much to be proud of
these days.