Benny & Joon
Benny & Joon is a 1993 romantic comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about how two eccentric individuals, Sam and Juniper "Joon", find each other and fall in love. Aidan Quinn also stars, and it was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik.
The film is perhaps best known for Depp's humorous physical comedy routines and for popularizing, in the United States, the song "I'm Gonna Be " by The Proclaimers. Benny & Joon was shot primarily on location in Spokane, Washington, while the train scenes at the beginning were shot near Metaline Falls, Washington.
Plot
Benjamin "Benny" Pearl and his mentally ill sister Juniper "Joon" Pearl, live together following the accidental death of their parents. Joon joins a poker game at a friend of Benny's named Mike's house and loses a bet that commits Sam, Mike's cousin, to live with the Pearls. Benny is at first angry, but after an evening with Sam at the local diner and then coming home the next day to find Sam has cleaned the house, Benny decides Sam should stay.Joon aids an illiterate Sam when he is struggling with writing to his mother, and the two go to the local diner where Ruthie is working. She takes them on an errand, and then takes them home. After Ruthie stays for dinner, her car won't start, and Benny drives her home, where they set a dinner date. Meanwhile, left alone, Joon and Sam kiss. Benny and Ruthie have a fun date, but it ends abruptly because Benny wants to get home to Joon. Sam goes to a video store to try to apply for a job there. Benny, Joon, and Sam go to a park where Sam starts doing tricks with his hat, attracting an appreciative crowd. Benny stays at the park to reflect and sends Joon home with Sam, where they make love. Sam then tells Joon he loves her which Joon reciprocates.
When Benny makes suggestions to Sam about his comedy routines, Joon becomes agitated and makes Sam explain that he and Joon are romantically involved. An angry Benny throws Sam out, yells at Joon, and shows her a pamphlet about a group home that would be a better home for her. Joon starts hitting Benny and screaming, and he pushes her away. Feeling bad, Benny leaves to get her some tapioca. While Benny is away, Sam arrives. They pack suitcases and get on a bus, but Joon soon begins to hear voices in her head and argues with them, in great distress. Sam tries to soothe her, but she becomes more agitated. The bus is stopped, and two paramedics restrain Joon. When Benny arrives at the hospital, the doctor tells him Joon doesn't want to see him. He finds Sam in the waiting room, and they argue. Sam goes to stay with Ruthie. Meanwhile, Benny begins to feel guilty about his treatment of Joon.
Benny finds Sam, now working at the video store, and asks for his help. They go to the hospital. Benny apologizes to Joon, persuades her to consider getting her own apartment, and tells her that Sam has come back for her. Joon tells the doctor that she would like to try living in her own apartment. Benny and Joon reconcile and Sam and Joon are reunited. Later, Benny brings roses to Ruthie. He takes another bouquet to Joon's apartment but leaves the flowers in the doorway when he sees Sam and Joon are busy making grilled cheese sandwiches with a clothing iron.
Cast
- Johnny Depp as Sam
- Mary Stuart Masterson as Juniper "Joon" Pearl
- Aidan Quinn as Benny
- Julianne Moore as Ruthie
- Oliver Platt as Eric
- C.C.H. Pounder as Dr. Garvey
- Dan Hedaya as Thomas
- Joe Grifasi as Mike
- William H. Macy as Randy Burch
Production
Release
Critical reception
gave the film three out of 4 stars. Owen Gleiberman gave the film a grade of "B", saying "the movie is full of absurdist we're meant to find magically funny; mostly they're just cute. Beneath the domesticated surrealism, though, Benny & Joon becomes genuinely touching–a love story about separation anxiety. Benny, the saintly grease monkey, thinks he has to devote his life to Joon in order to keep her out of an institution. Can he give her the space she needs to fall in love ? You already know the answer, but Quinn and Masterson–now gentle, now sniping–let it play out with tender conviction." Janet Maslin wrote:In a more realistic film, troubling issues might well shade the story. But Benny and Joon succeeds in remaining blithe and sunny, directed by Jeremiah Chechik with a commercial liveliness and a suitable sense of the absurd. The film's greatest asset is the obvious conviction of its actors, who never condescend to their roles. Mr. Depp may look nothing like Buster Keaton, but there are times when he genuinely seems to become the Great Stone Face, bringing Keaton's mannerisms sweetly and magically to life. As Mr. Depp and the rest of the film makers surely must have known, an impersonation like that is an all-or-nothing proposition. Ms. Masterson, a remarkably incisive and determined actress, never sentimentalizes Joon despite many ripe opportunities to do exactly that. She remains fierce, funny and persuasive even when the film conveniently soft-pedals the reality of Joon's situation. Mr. Quinn, often in the position of playing straight man to the other two leads, still makes Benny a touchingly sincere and sympathetic figure.
As of June 2020, Benny & Joon holds a rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 40 reviews.
Box office
In spite of its "commercially improbable story", the film became a "sleeper hit", evidence of the resurgence of date movies "after a decade dominated by action film and horror films." In the first two weeks of a limited release, Benny and Joon grossed $8 million. In its domestic box office total reached over $23.2 million. It grossed $7 million overseas for a worldwide total of $30 million.Portrayal of schizophrenia
writes that Joon is "schizophrenic, although the screenplay doesn't ever say the word out loud."David J. Robinson remarks that "More convincing features of schizophrenia soon follow. We are told that Joon experiences auditory hallucinations, does well with a stable routine, and takes medication on a daily basis. Her use of language is one of her most interesting attributes. She uses the last housekeeper's surname to refer to anyone who might fill the position, which is how Sam enters her life." E. Fuller Torrey calls the film "a beautifully filmed but unrealistic story about a brother who is the sole caretaker of his kid sister, who has schizophrenia.... While the film addresses such issues as noncompliance with medication and disputes over independent living arrangements, the bad times are never too severe or long-lasting. Reviewers Mick Martin and Marsha Porter remarked " most viewers will enjoy this bittersweet comedy... Folks coping with mental illness in real life will be offended by yet another film in which the problem is sanitized and trivialized".