Benny & Joon (1993) 7.0
A mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton. Director:Jeremiah S. Chechik |
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Benny & Joon (1993) 7.0
A mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton. Director:Jeremiah S. Chechik |
|
| 0Share... |
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Johnny Depp | ... | ||
| Mary Stuart Masterson | ... | ||
| Aidan Quinn | ... | ||
| Julianne Moore | ... | ||
| Oliver Platt | ... |
Eric
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| CCH Pounder | ... |
Dr. Garvey
(as C.C.H. Pounder)
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| Dan Hedaya | ... |
Thomas
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| Joe Grifasi | ... |
Mike
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| William H. Macy | ... |
Randy Burch
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| Liane Curtis | ... |
Claudia
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| Eileen Ryan | ... |
Mrs. Smail
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Don Hamilton | ... |
UPS Man
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Waldo Larson | ... |
Waldo
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Irvin Johnson | ... |
Orderly
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Shane Nilsson | ... |
Orderly
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In a small town, an auto mechanic named Benny is devoted to taking care of his mentally ill sister, Joon, who can barely function alone in the real world despite being a talented artist. This relatively stable situation is shaken up when Benny is obliged in a poker game to welcome another player's relative, Sam, to his home for a few days. When Sam arrives, he quickly makes an impression with his quietly eccentric ways which emulate the antics of the great silent movie comedian, Buster Keaton. Without Benny's full knowledge, Sam and Joon find themselves drawn to each other to the fullest degree. However when Benny finds out, it creates a rift in the siblings as they struggle to accept their relationship is profoundly changing with the presence of this odd newcomer. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
If you read this one exactly as it's written and take out the Depp character it can play accurately. It would never be a big movie like that (it wasn't big anyway) but it would be consistent and good. But insert Depp's character (and Depp's way of playing this character) and you have something entirely else. The title holds only if you don't have Depp in the movie - for this movie is all about Depp. He literally steals the show. I don't know much about Depp, what I've heard he is a somewhat weird character, but if you look at what he's done - Scissorhands and this movie as two examples - you have to wonder if you're not looking at one of the truly great actors of the day. The diner scene with the two dinner rolls, the tray of dinners, the Wurlitzer and Julianne Moore; the kitchen antics; the jack-in-the-box scene - simple but still; the 'mail a letter to momma' scene - look how Depp totally creates his character; and the park scene: this is great stuff. Is it about Benny and Joon and their ability to cope with their situation? Maybe. But moviegoers might remember this essentially 'feel good' movie as only another incredible Johnny Depp performance.