Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersSundance Film FestivalIndependent Spirit AwardsBlack History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Benny & Joon

  • 19931993
  • PGPG
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
59K
YOUR RATING
Johnny Depp in Benny & Joon (1993)
A mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
Play trailer1:57
1 Video
85 Photos
ComedyDramaRomance
A mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.A mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.A mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
59K
YOUR RATING
    • Jeremiah S. Chechik
    • Barry Berman(story)
    • Lesley McNeil(story)
  • Stars
    • Johnny Depp
    • Mary Stuart Masterson
    • Aidan Quinn
    • Jeremiah S. Chechik
    • Barry Berman(story)
    • Lesley McNeil(story)
  • Stars
    • Johnny Depp
    • Mary Stuart Masterson
    • Aidan Quinn
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 189User reviews
    • 41Critic reviews
    • 57Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:57
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos85

    Mary Stuart Masterson and Aidan Quinn in Benny & Joon (1993)
    Aidan Quinn in Benny & Joon (1993)
    Johnny Depp in Benny & Joon (1993)
    Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson in Benny & Joon (1993)
    Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson in Benny & Joon (1993)
    Johnny Depp and Ramsin Amirkhas in Benny & Joon (1993)
    Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Aidan Quinn in Benny & Joon (1993)
    Julianne Moore and Aidan Quinn in Benny & Joon (1993)
    Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Aidan Quinn in Benny & Joon (1993)
    Mary Stuart Masterson in Benny & Joon (1993)
    Johnny Depp, Aidan Quinn, and Jeremiah S. Chechik in Benny & Joon (1993)
    Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Aidan Quinn in Benny & Joon (1993)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Johnny Depp
    Johnny Depp
    • Sam
    Mary Stuart Masterson
    Mary Stuart Masterson
    • Joon Pearl
    Aidan Quinn
    Aidan Quinn
    • Benny Pearl
    Julianne Moore
    Julianne Moore
    • Ruthie
    Oliver Platt
    Oliver Platt
    • Eric
    CCH Pounder
    CCH Pounder
    • Dr. Garvey
    • (as C.C.H. Pounder)
    Dan Hedaya
    Dan Hedaya
    • Thomas
    Joe Grifasi
    Joe Grifasi
    • Mike
    William H. Macy
    William H. Macy
    • Randy Burch
    Liane Curtis
    Liane Curtis
    • Claudia
    • (as Liane Alexandra Curtis)
    Eileen Ryan
    Eileen Ryan
    • Mrs. Smail
    Don Hamilton
    • UPS Man
    Waldo Larson
    • Waldo
    Irvin Johnson
    • Orderly
    Shane Nilsson
    • Orderly
    Leslie Laursen
    • Admitting Nurse
    Faye Allen
    • Video Customer
    • (as Faye Killebrew)
    Ramsin Amirkhas
    • Video Clerk
      • Jeremiah S. Chechik
      • Barry Berman(story) (screenplay)
      • Lesley McNeil(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Don Juan DeMarco
    6.7
    Don Juan DeMarco
    Cry-Baby
    6.5
    Cry-Baby
    What's Eating Gilbert Grape
    7.7
    What's Eating Gilbert Grape
    Nick of Time
    6.3
    Nick of Time
    The Astronaut's Wife
    5.4
    The Astronaut's Wife
    Arizona Dream
    7.2
    Arizona Dream
    The Brave
    6.1
    The Brave
    The Libertine
    6.2
    The Libertine
    The Man Who Cried
    6.1
    The Man Who Cried
    Chocolat
    7.3
    Chocolat
    Ed Wood
    7.8
    Ed Wood
    Secret Window
    6.5
    Secret Window

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Johnny Depp did all of the stunts for the physical comedy sequence in the park himself.
    • 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.
    • Quotes

      Sam: You don't like raisins?

      Joon: Not really.

      Sam: Why?

      Joon: They used to be fat and juicy and now they're twisted. They had their lives stolen. Well, they taste sweet, but really they're just humiliated grapes. I can't say I am a big supporter of the raisin council.

      Sam: Did you see those, those raisins on TV? The ones that sing and dance and stuff?

      Joon: They scare me.

      Sam: Yeah me too

      Joon: It's sick. The commercial people they make them sing and dance so people will eat them.

      Sam: It's a shame about raisins.

      Joon: Cannibals.

      Sam: Yeah. Do you like avocados?

      Joon: They're a fruit you know.

      Sam: Ruthie, do you got any avocados?

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: This Boy's Life/The Sandlot/Indecent Proposal/Bodies, Rest & Motion/The Abyss (1993)
    • Soundtracks
      I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
      Written by Charlie Reid (as Charles Reid) and Craig Reid

      Performed by The Proclaimers

      Courtesy of EMI Records Group/Chrysalis Records

      by arrangement with CEMA Special Markets

    User reviews189

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    whimsical and affectionate, like its characters
    BENNY & JOON seems, at its heart, to be an allegory about the different ways people can be out of touch with their fellow human beings, and the ways in which that dischord can be healed.

    Benny owns an auto shop and takes care - both financially and physically - of himself and his sister Joon after the death of their parents. Other than weekly poker games, Benny's is a life of servitude, and this is the source of his isolation. He longs to be free to have other relationships, but is wracked by guilt at the idea of leaving Joon in anyone else's care.

    Joon is an artist and is also mentally ill, a schizophrenic who has good and bad days and who depends on Benny to provide routine in her life. She has run out every housekeeper to be found in town, but cannot function without assistance and supervision. The film does a superb job of differentiating between mental illness (from which Joon clearly suffers) and stupidity (which is not a problem she faces).

    Into their lives comes Sam, a cousin of one of Benny's poker buddies. Through a clever conceit, Sam moves in with Benny and Joon. Sam is undereducated, partially illiterate but a comedic genius who studies Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, knows catalogs of old movies, and has perfected the art form (kudos to Depp for the grace and conviction of this part of his performance). Like Keaton and the great silent film stars, Sam rarely speaks to communicate, and this combined with his illiteracy condemns him to be considered stupid as well. The great sneaker quality of Depp's performance is to show that Sam is always watching, always listening, and that he's no dim bulb by any stretch.

    In Sam, Joon finds a person who makes her laugh, lives by his own rules, and cares for her deeply. In Joon, Sam finds a woman who appreciates him as he is, but he also knows a relationship with her is taboo. In a particularly revealing scene, he asks Benny, as one man to another, "How sick is she?" We know he is wrestling with his feelings for her, but Benny does not, and his offhanded answer comes across as callous and almost mocking.

    While the handling of Sam and Joon's budding relationship may seem trite, and the humor applied to Joon's illness might seem cruel, in my experience the people who make those judgments know little about living day to day with a mentally ill - not to be confused with unintelligent - human being. There is deep and abiding truth in the idea that laughter and love can cure the incurable; people who seemed unable to function before can make great strides when they are shown trust and respect. And although the psychiatric issues were glossed over in this film, it has at its core an honest message of hope. One of my favorite films, for Depp and Masterson's outstanding performances and a true depiction of imperfect people on the journey to becoming whole. 9/10
    helpful•114
    8
    • saska-3
    • Aug 3, 2003

    FAQ2

    • Exactly what mental illness does Joon have?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 16, 1993 (United States)
      • United States
      • MGM
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • 301 N Cedar Street, Spokane, Washington, USA
    • Production companies
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
      • Roth-Arnold Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 38 minutes
      • Color

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Johnny Depp in Benny & Joon (1993)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Benny & Joon (1993) officially released in India in Hindi?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.