Say what you will about Paul Thomas Anderson's films, it is undeniable that the man takes risks when he casts them.

First, he chose Marky Mark (Mark Wahlberg) to play the part of the well-endowed porn star Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights. Then he cast the world's biggest movie star, Tom Cruise, as a motivational speaker in Magnolia. But with his new picture P.T. Anderson (as he now calls himself) takes his biggest casting gamble yet. In the role of the nearly-neurotic character at the heart of the eccentric Punch-Drunk Love is Adam Sandler.

Yes, that Adam Sandler.

Boogie Nights would have been a masterpiece with or without Mark Wahlberg. His wide-eyed, innocent portrayal of Diggler neither added to the film, nor took away from it. The question in casting Cruise for the ensemble acting piece that was Magnolia was whether a huge star could carry a movie that relied on character development, not star-appeal. To their credit, Anderson and Cruise pulled it off.

Sandler in Punch-Drunk Love does not work out as well. Sandler does an admirable job playing the overanxious and semi-depressed Barry Egan. However, Anderson wrote a thin script that requires Sandler to carry the movie. Unfortunately for the former Saturday Night Live star, it's heavy lifting

Punch-Drunk Love follows a week in the life of gadget entrepreneur Egan. By making plungers with flashing lights for Las Vegas casinos and various other novelties, Egan manages to support himself financially. However, his personal life is a void in which he occupies his time investigating consumer-purchasing incentives while trying to combat the oppressive, continuous scrutiny of his seven sisters. In the absence of any stable, supportive family member or confidant, Egan battles severe depression by throwing destructive fits in public.

Eventually, Egan is set up with one of his sister's friends, Lena, played by two-time Academy Award nominee Emily Watson. Watson is grossly undercast in this film, as her role fails to test her proven versatility. While perhaps one of the only cast members capable of portraying a character complex and compelling enough to carry the weak plot line of the film, she is not given enough screen time to lend the film any sort of relief from the monotonous performance given by Sandler. As a result, her character and the plot line surrounding her can't help but fall flat. Her chemistry with Sandler is non-existent and the reason Lena falls for Barry is never really explained. Or perhaps that's the point.

Interspersed through Barry and Lena's budding love is a plan to acquire millions of frequent flier miles by purchasing pudding, and a phone-sex call gone awry. These subplots do little to reinforce whatever direction Anderson envisioned for his story, other than to show how love is all Barry needs to shed some of his insecurities ­ a point brought about in the most cliché and obtuse fashion.

The movie is unbearably slow, which is all the more remarkable considering its brief running time. The script shows Anderson's penchant for wit, but on a grand scale the story is hokey.

Anderson did do an admirable job with the direction. His visual sense is reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick. Their direction styles differ, but Anderson seems to have studied Kubrick's use of colors and patterns to enhance a shot. This is most notable in Sandler's bright blue suit, which he wears throughout the film. And once again Anderson enlisted cinematographer Robert Elswit to shoot the movie, resulting in a beautiful work of visual art.

On the bright side, the acting in the film, other than Watson's, is quite strong. Sandler gives his best performance to date. He transforms from the knucklehead who previously beat up Bob Barker and went back to kindergarten to become the more complex Egan.

Anderson's regular players are fantastic, stealing the screen in their few scenes. Phillip Seymour Hoffman gives a fabulous performance as a phone-sex pimp and Luis Guzman gives his usual solid showing as Sandler's pseudo-friend and coworker.