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.
1993 Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik
A mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
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
Kimberly Harris Scott Millan Elmo Ponsdomenech J. Paul Huntsman Gary C. Bourgeois Myron Nettinga John Haeny
Benny And Joon, Benny & Joon, el amor de los inocentes, Бенні і Джун
First time watch. God, do I hate those early 90's mom jeans that everyone wears.
I too would like to sit on the floor and make charcoal paintings of Johnny Depp, sounds like a nice night
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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/
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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!
"Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese..." -Joon,
500 miles? I mean maybe I'd walk a mile.
I didn't care for it. I don't like movies that dabble in whimsy... I want you to go the whole way or nothing at all. Benny and Joon could be an interesting movie to me. It's like a romantic pseudo-comedy spin on some A Woman Under the Influence vibes and that sounds like it has the potential to be awesome but I just found the whole thing boring and/or off. The portrayal of mental illness is really generic and whack, Aidan Quinn is the most boring actor of all time, there is not enough Johnny Depp being silly, and there are tons of lulls in the energy which made it difficult for me to care.
Underwhelmed.
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…
You can't throw him out, I won him!
-Joon
If 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…
it doesn’t hit quite the same as when i was younger but i still really love some aspects of it, especially the stuff with benny and joon
anyway if i was to make this i’d make it about lesbians and benny would be gay 😌
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.
Johnny Depp would be an insufferable Film Twitter guy if this was made today