Even the biggest Paul Thomas Anderson fan will admit that his scripts don't read that well. He makes basic spelling mistakes and tends to run on with his incoherent, "realistic" monologues. His movies are salvaged by good actors, and his sense of sound and visual storytelling. In any event, this book is a big disappointment. If you're expecting something comparable to Newmarket's Magnolia script book or even Faber and Faber's Boogie Nights script book, think again. The gimmick here is that the multi-colored script revision pages are published, instead of a single draft. The result is only 90 pages and, since many of the pages are script revisions, some of the pages are half empty. Also, unlike the previously published PTA scripts, there's no introduction. Unlike the Magnolia script, there are no stills. Hell, there isn't even text on the back cover of the book. This is as bare-bones as script books come. As far as I can tell, PTA doesn't really care about his fans anymore. He's stopped recording commentaries, writing introductions, or soundtrack liner notes. At least he still makes good movies.

I love being able to read P.T. Anderson's shooting scripts. His films are fabulous. I believe one of the negative reviewers partially misses the point when harping on the misspellings, the rambling monologues and how PTA's scripts are saved by the actors. The whole point of a script is that it is the first rough draft -- the framework -- upon which a movie is built. Of course there are going to be improvements between the script and the final product. The reason to buy this, or any, shooting script is to see how the project evolved from script to screen. In the case of Punch-Drunk Love -- much more so than Boogie Nights or Magnolia -- it's fascinating to find that almost every important scene was tweaked, sometimes in a major way, before this wonderful film reached the screen. ... It's a great chance to get some insight into the stages of the creative process of one of America's finest directors. ... BOTTOM LINE: Does this book have all the bells and whistles of the Boogie Nights and Magnolia shooting scripts? NOPE. Is it essential for the PTA fan? YUP.

One of my new favorites, "Punch-Drunk Love" is a unique and spectacular story about a man who doesn't know how the face the world around him. That man is Barry Egan. He has seven sisters who have verbally abused him since he was little, causing him to, now all grown up, get into violent outbursts. Barry's a quiet and shy guy, but if his button is pushed things can get out of control. He meets Lena, a very strange and peculiar girl herself. Love falls upon these two, but Barry's even facing more problems after being blackmailed by a phone-sex operator. But when all else fails, he knows that he has a love in his life in this very oddball and dark comedy.

I'm glad they came out with a script version of the film that you can buy. Paul Thomas Anderson has written a magnificent picture that's so easy to relate to , it's scary. The stuff that occurs you can see happening in real life. It's realistic and surreal at the same time.

This is the shooting script, on blue, pink, and yellow colored pages that symbolize when the revisions were made. Technical terms such as camera angels are included as well since it is a shooting script. Even little changes are mentioned as well. I love the dialogue that was written and you can tell that P.T. had Sandler in mind for the part, because nobody else would've been able to pull it off. While it's not your typical comedy, I thought it was hilarious. It pretty much follows the movie, although some things aren't there or changed due to changes that occurred during the shooting. It's pretty much all there for the most part.

"Punch-Drunk Love: The Shooting Script" is a great purchase for anyone who loved the film. It may not had been the most popular movie to come out of 2002, but it's #2 on my list. The pages fly by with ease, and when you're done with it you want to read it again. I can't wait for this movie to come out on DVD. I'm counting the days. A spectacular script for a spectacular film.