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Pumpkin
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Overview

User Rating:
6.1/10   4,691 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 6% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Writer (WGA):
Adam Larson Broder (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Pumpkin on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 March 2004 (Spain) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sport more
Tagline:
A comedy for the romantically challenged.
Plot:
A sorority girl is drawn to a disabled man. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
Movie Reviews: Pumpkin
 (From Studio Briefing - Film News. 5 July 2002)

User Comments:
When 'separate but equal' worlds collide. more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Christina Ricci ... Carolyn McDuffy

Hank Harris ... Pumpkin Romanoff

Brenda Blethyn ... Judy Romanoff
Dominique Swain ... Jeanine Kryszinsky

Marisa Coughlan ... Julie Thurber
Samuel Ball ... Kent Woodlands (as Sam Ball)

Harry Lennix ... Robert Meary (Poetry teacher)

Nina Foch ... Betsy Collander
Caroline Aaron ... Claudia Prinsinger
Lisa Banes ... Chippy McDuffy
Julio Oscar Mechoso ... Dr. Frederico Cruz

Phil Reeves ... Burt Wohlfert

Marisa Petroro ... Courtney Burke (as Marisa Parker)

Tait Smith ... Hansie Prinsinger
Michael Bacall ... Casey Whitner
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for language and a scene of sexuality.
Runtime:
113 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
Singapore:M18 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Canada:14A | USA:R | Australia:M
Filming Locations:
Azusa, California, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The shot of Kent's car flying off the cliff and exploding is actually taken from Hudson Hawk (1991) - you can even see the dummy, that represented the bad guy, on the hood. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Caroline runs to get Pumpkin at the beach where she left him, her hair is sticking up in the air from the wind ,then when she kneels down next to Pumpkin, her hair is perfect again. more
Quotes:
Carolyn McDuffy: I didn't mean for any any of this to happen. But he's just so sweet... so pure. He understands what's good in me. No one else does. And, Mama, when he touches me... he's so gentle... so tender.
Chippy McDuffy: [greatly disturbed but hiding it] There, there, Carolyn. In time, this will heal. We just have to forget this ever happened.
Carolyn McDuffy: I know. Mom, I know.
more
Movie Connections:
References The Stepford Wives (1975) more
Soundtrack:
If You Go Away more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful:-
When 'separate but equal' worlds collide., 15 May 2004
7/10
Author: the_match_maker

Webster's New World Dictionary defines the word ‘retarded' as: 'slow or delayed in development, esp mentally.'

The movie's setup is certainly different from the typical ‘boy meets girl' formula. We've all seen the ‘nerd gets girl' bit. Well, this time it's taken to the ‘next level' if you will. The plot revolves around a stereotypical ‘prom queen' type of sorority girl falling in love with a mentally (and physically) handicapped boy, and how everything she once held dear falls apart because of it.

This is the sort of project that Christina Ricci has made a career out of doing. Namely, dark comedies. She plays against type insofar as she's considered a rather ‘edgy' actress, yet her role in this flick is that of the ‘popular girl'. A role in which is has obvious fun lampooning.

The subject matter would make one think that this would be a conventional straight drama, but it isn't, which is perhaps what elevates it above what could be typical tearjerker schlock. The film never takes itself too seriously, there's always a bit of ‘winking' involved. Take for instance when Ricci's character tries to kill herself by overdosing on Night Quill and Pepto-Bismol-only to succeed in making herself sick to her stomach.

However, while satirical, it does make good points on how the general public view and think about the mentally handicapped. How beneath the platitudes and seeming self sacrifice, most people still view them as ‘unequal' to the rest of us-people to whom mouth service is given, but true acceptance of is never a genuine consideration.

The way everyone turns on Ricci's character (her friends, her boyfriend, her parents) when it's made clear her feelings for her ‘special friend'-it's very poignant and very real (if not also very farcical). And one supposes that it's because of that blatant bias of others that make her make out scenes with said ‘special friend' so satisfying. She not only accepts him, but accepts him as a woman accepts a man. One has to admit, there's something oddly esoteric about seeing her have an implied sex scene with a ‘retard'. It sort of warms the cockles of one's heart.

‘Off beat' is the best way to quantify this film. It toes the line between full-blown farce and full on drama. Satirical yet genuine. And this is coming from a guy that usually avoids these types of flicks like the Bubonic Plague!

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