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Punch-Drunk Love

In Los Angeles, Barry Egan is a bachelor who owns a company that markets themed toilet plungers and other novelty items. He has seven overbearing sisters who regularly ridicule and emotionally abuse him, and he leads a lonely life punctuated by fits of rage and social anxiety.

One day, Barry witnesses an inexplicable car accident, picks up an abandoned harmonium from the street, and meets Lena Leonard, a co-worker of Elizabeth, one of his sisters. Lena had orchestrated the meeting after seeing him in Elizabeth's family picture at work. Barry attends his sister's birthday party, where they tease him about his sexuality, leading to a violent outburst in which he breaks sliding glass doors. Afterwards, he privately asks his brother-in-law to refer him to a therapist.

At home, Barry calls a phone sex line to cope with his loneliness. The phone sex operator tries to extort money from him and then sends four henchmen, who are brothers, to collect. This complicates his budding relationship with Lena, as well as his plan to exploit a loophole in a Healthy Choice promotion and amass a million frequent-flyer miles by purchasing large quantities of pudding.

When Lena leaves for Hawaii on a business trip, Barry decides to follow her. He uses his sister to find Lena, who is overjoyed to see him. As the two spend time together, Barry's sister calls Lena, who lies to her about being in contact with him. The romance develops further, leading to Barry's relief from his emotional isolation.

On the return trip, the four brothers ram Barry's car, mildly injuring Lena. After fighting them off with a tire iron, Barry leaves her at the hospital and sets out to end the harassment. He calls the phone sex line back and discovers the "supervisor" is the owner of a mattress store. Barry drives all the way to Provo, Utah, to confront the owner, Dean, face to face. At first, trying to intimidate Barry, Dean finds him more intimidating once he learns that he has come all the way from California. They both agree "that's that".

Returning home, Barry visits Lena to explain why the accident happened. He begs for forgiveness, pledging his loyalty and to use his frequent-flyer miles to accompany her on all future business trips after his pudding miles are processed. Lena confesses she was more upset at being left at the hospital, but forgives Barry and they embrace.