Is Phantom Thread funny?

On the indiscernible humor of Paul Thomas Anderson

'Phantom Thread': rom-com?
(Image credit: Focus Features)

Are P.T. Anderson's movies funny?

As a critic who often sees movies at press screenings, I'm privy to experiences that I know are markedly different from other moviegoers. Sometimes this is a good thing, as when the press audience for The Accountant started guffawing at its late-game absurdities. Sometimes it's kind of a bummer, as when a crowdpleaser doesn't go over so well in a tiny screening room. And sometimes it's just different, as when Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread receives the kind of raucous (if occasional) laughter that it's difficult to picture manifesting in a commercial setting.

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Jesse Hassenger

Jesse Hassenger's film and culture criticism has appeared in The Onion's A.V. Club, Brooklyn Magazine, and Men's Journal online, among others. He lives in Brooklyn, where he also writes fiction, edits textbooks, and helps run SportsAlcohol.com, a pop culture blog and podcast.