Benny & Joon (1993)

A mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.

Director:

Jeremiah S. Chechik

Writers:

Barry Berman (story), Lesley McNeil (story),

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan Quinn

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Depp	...	Sam
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Juniper 'Joon' Pearl
Aidan Quinn	...	Benjamin 'Benny' Pearl
Julianne Moore	...	Ruthie
Oliver Platt	...	Eric
CCH Pounder	...	Dr. Garvey (as C.C.H. Pounder)
Dan Hedaya	...	Thomas
Joe Grifasi	...	Mike
William H. Macy	...	Randy Burch
Liane Curtis	...	Claudia
Eileen Ryan	...	Mrs. Smail
Don Hamilton	...	UPS Man
Waldo Larson	...	Waldo
Irvin Johnson	...	Orderly
Shane Nilsson	...	Orderly

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

poker | love | mechanic | sibling | bus | 

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Taglines:

A romance on the brink of reality.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for theme, a scene of mild sensuality and one use of harsh language

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 April 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Benny i Joon

Filming Locations:

Pend Oreille River, Washington, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$23,202,734 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Roth-Arnold Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Johnny Depp did all of the stunts for the physical comedy sequence in the park himself.

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Goofs

When Joon plays poker, she asks for two cards--one can be seen as being a black card. When she shows her hand, she has five hearts.

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Quotes

Thomas: [while playing cards] Soap on a rope. Slightly used.

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Connections

References Hey There (1918)

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Soundtracks

"HAVE A LITTLE FAITH IN ME"
Written and Performed by John Hiatt
Courtesy of A&M Records, Inc.

User Reviews

funny *and* realistic (whatever others may say)

I first saw this movie with almost no expectations. Now I own it and have watched it more times than I can remember.

I have heard that this movie caught a lot of flak about not being "realistic" about mental illness, and not providing a diagnosis for Joon, etc. I think that it is more realistic for the "average" person with a mental illness than any other movie I have seen on the topic. There was no theme of "being institutionalised forever" and there was no unrealistic expectation of a "cure".

The character of Sam put it best when he said "Aside from being a little mentally ill, she's pretty normal." I think that's the best quote I've heard in a movie, on that particular topic.

I also think there is a reason for there being no stated diagnosis of Joon. She personifies those of us who can't get on with the things we want to do in life because of a mental illness and treatment getting in the way. She does it very well, down to the mannerisms. If she were to be labeled, say, obsessive-compulsive, or post-traumatic stress disorder, or schizophrenic, or bipolar, then the universality would be taken out of it and it would suddenly only apply to people with one certain label.

This movie did wonders for my family. Upon watching it, we all said "That's us!" and learned to laugh at ourselves and the situations we got into. It offered me a lot of hope -- what more could I want than to find an understanding and eccentric friend to love and move into my own apartment, away from the mess of hospitals and doctors? It still makes me laugh every time I see it, and "Joon" has become a household word... I recommend this to anyone, particularly anyone with a mental illness, and their families -- it might lighten things up, but it certainly doesn't skip over the bad parts.