Synopsis
A romance on the brink of reality.
A mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
Benny & Joon
1993 Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik
Cast
Johnny Depp Mary Stuart Masterson Aidan Quinn Julianne Moore Oliver Platt CCH Pounder Dan Hedaya Joe Grifasi William H. Macy Liane Curtis Eileen Ryan Lynette Walden Waldo Larson Don Hamilton Leslie Laursen John Grant Phillips Irvin Johnson Shane Nilsson Faye Killebrew Ramsin Amirkhas Amy Alizabeth Sanford Brian Keevy Tony Lincoln Noon Orsatti Dan Kamin Gregory Cook Aaron Haedt
Director
Producers
Writers
Editor
Cinematography
Production Design
Art Direction
Set Decoration
Composer
Sound
Kimberly Harris Scott Millan Elmo Ponsdomenech J. Paul Huntsman Gary C. Bourgeois Myron Nettinga John Haeny
Costumes
Studios
Country
Language
Alternative Title
Benny And Joon
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First time watch. God, do I hate those early 90's mom jeans that everyone wears.
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Film #18 of the "Scavenger Hunt" Challenge!
Task #19 : A film featuring a physically or mentally challenged person!
letterboxd.com/naughty/list/scavenger-hunt/___________________________________________________________________
If you are looking for a serious film dealing with mental illness this would not be the film for you! However as a fairly lighthearted film with a bit of romance thrown into the mix, and touching ever so slightly on elements of mental illness it's actually turns out to be quite an amusing film!
For me the success of the film quite frankly is due to Johnny Depp! He plays an eccentric young man whom idolizes and mimic's Buster Keaton! His Buster Keaton-esque performances will put a smile on your face and lift up your heart!
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Romantic comedies that feature an illiterate Buster Keaton wannabe and a schizophrenic don't come around too often, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Jeremiah S Chechik's early nineties drama. Featuring a youngish Johnny Depp as the eccentric Sam and Mary Stuart Masterson as Joon, this has a quirky but enjoyable script that although never really tackling any of the real mental health issues, does give us an unorthodox love story with a heart. Joon's schizophrenia is shown in small bursts when she seems to feel stress, and although there are serious implications to her actions, some of it does feel as if it's played for cheap laughs. Anyone of course who's lived with someone with this sort…
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You can't throw him out, I won him!
-JoonIf you suffer from mental illness please seek out the advice of a mechanic, washed up actress and/or a Buster Keaton enthusiast. Just ignore trained mental health professionals as they simply exist to "keep you down".
You can either nitpick the film's portrayal of schizophrenia, which they simply call "mental illness", or you can let the cuteness of the film wash over you. Screenwriter Barry Berman might have something to say about how we treat the mentally ill and his view might even be the correct one, but everything in the film is too overly simplified to have anything meaningful to say about it.
What we end up with from "hit…
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Look, I love 90’s Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson was an angel in Fried Green Tomatoes, Some Kind of Wonderful and this. And that 500 miles song is shit on it’s own but in Benny & Joon it’s cute, so I dunno. Those Proclaimer guys look like Stephen King.
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A really sweet and endearing look at mental illness packaged up as a delightfully quirky romcom. Depp has made a career out of playing eccentric characters so naturally shines as Sam, a well dressed oddball with a talent for physical comedy in the vein of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
Its intentions are totally benevolent but if you look past the comedy and charming love story it does come across naive and slightly ignorant of its subject matter; it totally skims over Joon's illness. (We never actually find out what she has if I'm not mistaken).
If you're looking for realism you won't find it in Benny & Joon but I was won over by its whimsy and a brilliant early performance from Depp.
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It’s a kind of movie that you can see it again and again and it’s touched in some ways, i enjoyed Johnny’s performance it was amazing and charming he was a little Chaplin here 🎩💫
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A whimsical romantic comedy with enough dark edges to make it all stick, Jeremiah Chechik's "Benny & Joon" is a delight. Starring Aidan Quinn, Mary Stuart Masterson, and a fresh-faced Johnny Depp, the film is a stirring look at love between the marginalized.
Taking place in the verdant, urban rough of Spokane, Washington, "Benny & Joon" revolves around a brother taking care of his mentally ill sister. When a film-obsessed tramp wanders into their lives, the sister finds herself in an adult relationship and staring at an uneasy romance directly in the face.
The story blends light and dark with little effort, and, though it does not get under the skin of its protagonist's illness, the affair is refreshing thanks to the…
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Hearing the “500 miles” song in the first scene with the beginning of the day, makes you full of energy. I felt my soul was dancing too.
The performance and characters were cool.
I like that short part of Johnny’s silent films, and I want to see him in full show ✨One more thing, that version of poker game I love it 😂😂
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Johnny Depp would be an insufferable Film Twitter guy if this was made today
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generally a pretty compassionate portrayal of mentally ill people, where they become something more than what their illness defines them as, where they’re not the constant butt of the jokes, and where they’re allowed to be super talented and fall in love without having to be told otherwise. it’s not a game changer or perfect, but it’s just some really wholesome content accompanied with heartwarming performances. I was worried the charm would wear off this film but it really stayed till the very end! infinite charm. emphatic. empathetic. very good.
Recent reviews
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Shout-out to Matt for the recommendation. Well, it was more of an indirect recommendation as his review for a film where Johnny Depp plays a guy who models himself after Buster Keaton instantly got my attention. In terms of being an accurate portrayal of mental illness, it's probably far from accurate. The performances for the most part were pretty good, though I wasn't sold on Joon. The best performance was hands down Depp as he added the eccentricity and genuine charm to make the character work as best as it could. I really wish the film explored why he chose Buster to model after, yet performed several Chaplin gags and then cleaned a house to Temple of the Dog.
The…
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"Did you have to go to school for that?"
"No no, I got thrown out of school for that."Some might dismiss this picture and consider it a cheap and soft vehicle for Depp to perform a half-decent Buster Keaton impersonation, but this was a revisit almost 20 years in the making for me and I'll be damned if it wasn't a little bit of a delight and I realize now why this was a familiar viewing for me in my teens when it would pop up on HBO every so often.
The music is marvelous, great and apt songs and sounds throughout — my main takeaway from this watch (and yes I admit, I watched the popular Proclaimers music… -
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I just love the film and enjoyed it so much. It is a type of film that you wanna watch when you’re home after a long day and just wanna chill.
Johnny Depp’s performance was amazing, I enjoyed a lot watching him as ‘Sam’. -
Michelle’s favorite film and seems inspired by Harold and Maude. Pretty cool this was filmed in Spokane to as I lived there for about 4 years and recognized a lot of the setting.
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Requesting forgiveness from my soul which forgot how utterly charming this movie is.
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Over the years, I’ve grown to dislike Johnny Depps over the top quirky characters that steal focus and distract from the plot and overall tone of the movie. I groaned when he showed up in Fantastic Beasts and was dismayed to learn he had a bigger role in the 2nd movie. It’s still why i don’t like that series. But I digress (a new lingering effect of the virus). But in this movie, Depp portrays Sam whose fascination and love for Buster Keaton, brings a smile to your face. He really underplayed the role and it was perfect.
It’s tough to make a movie about the challenges of mental health issues and try to be conscious of those issues while… -
There are so many aspects of this film that really land for me, but there's something missing for me to keep it in my top 100... Perhaps something with the tone.
Things I love:
• Cast (Moore, Masterson, Quinn, Hedaya, Platt, Macy)
• Chaplin & Keaton & Lloyd references (this was particularly encouraging as when I saw this I was just getting into the silent comedy stars)
• Comedy
• I also think Masterson does well with her performance on the autistic scale (I don't entirely agree with the current trend towards "authenticity casting")
• Depp: he's so magnetic here, uses his physical presence perfectly. For me, he doesn't get much better than this
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