Benny & Joon

1993 "A romance on the brink of reality."
7.1| 1h38m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 16 April 1993 Released
Producted By: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

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

Genre

Drama, Comedy

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Director

Jeremiah S. Chechik

Production Companies

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

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Benny & Joon Audience Reviews

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?
InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Smoreni Zmaj Mary Stuart Masterson plays mentally ill girl who lives with her brother. His life is reduced to work and taking care of ill sister, without any privacy or dedication to himself and his own life and future. And then in their lives enter Johnny Depp in role of weird semi-literate boy, fan of Chaplin and Keaton, and Oscar winning Julianne Moore in role of local waitress. Nothing pretentious, pretty much predictable, but sincere, strong, romantic and most of all fun..............................................
itamarscomix At the heart of 'Benny & Joon' is the story of Joon, a mentally ill young woman, and her older brother Benny, who takes constant care of her and, while complaining about how much that complicates his life, actually uses the obligation as an excuse for the fact that his own life is going nowhere. It's a story that's simple, realistic and painfully honest. It could have made for a touching little drama if only Chechik made a clean decision that that's what the film is about.Unfortunately, 'Benny & Joon's biggest asset is also its undoing, and that is the wonderful and charismatic performance of young Johnny Depp. Depp enters the scene almost halfway through as Joon's love interest, the mentally unbalanced but extremely charming Sam who chooses to model his personality (or lack thereof) on silent comedy stars Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Sam swoops Joon off her feet and disrupts the delicate balance of the siblings' relationship, which forces Benny to face up and decide whether he can let Joon go or not. Depp is terrific in his role; in one extended scene where he showcases his slapstick abilities he proves just how much of a screen personality he was and why he became one of the most bankable movie stars of the 90's. The problem is that he's so charismatic that he can easily fool the audience (and often does) that Sam is a romantic hero rather than a disruptive, chaotic presence; that this is the love story of Joon and Sam, rather than the story of Benny and his coming to terms with his own life decisions. What's worse, Depp's charisma emphasizes just how pale and unimpressive Aidan Quinn is in the role that should have been the lead.It's not a bad film; it's a pretty and touching little drama, wonderfully scripted. On the other hand, Depp's scenes are a pleasure to behold. But the contrast between the two is what ultimately makes it a failure. It doesn't help that Chechik can't quite make up his mind about how seriously he's taking Joon's mental illness, which is played for laughs a bit too often.
Olya Ivanova I would say this film was pretty much a cliché. Two strange people fall in love in this mainstream society. But there were some interesting aspects: for example, there was not too many mushy-mushy moments of verbally expressing love (I really can't stand that in films!); also, the actors were believable and did not over do it. But overall, the film didn't give any insight on new ideas and just focused on a standard topic of "forbidden love", and was pretty much predictable all the way till the end just like all Hollywood films. As a Johnny Depp fan, I don't regret watching it, but it is not a movie I would recommend to anyone.
tieman64 Today "Benny and Joon", a 1993 romantic comedy, is mostly remembered for an oddball performance by actor Johnny Depp, who plays a young man with a fondness for impersonating silent Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton routines. Depp can't touch Chaplin or Keaton, but his character is at times heartwarming. Depp fangals adore the film, particularly the way Depp risks life and limb for his woman, sticking by her side no matter what. The ladies love it.The film features an early performance by the always interesting Julianne Moore. Like Depp's character, hers is a meta-roll, Moore a good actress playing a bad actress who gave up bad acting to be a good waiter. Most of the film is filler, but Moore and Depp elevate things. Depp would make a career out of playing oddball characters.7.9/10 – Worth one viewing. See "They Might Be Giants" and "A Thousand Clowns".