| Benny & Joon | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jeremiah S. Chechik |
| Screenplay by | Barry Berman |
| Story by | Barry Berman Lesley McNeil |
| Produced by | Susan Arnold Donna Arkoff Roth |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | John Schwartzman |
| Edited by | Carol Littleton |
| Music by | Rachel Portman |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $13 million[1] |
| Box office | $30 million[2] |
Benny & Joon is a 1993 Americanromantic comedy-drama film released byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer about how two eccentric individuals, Sam (Johnny Depp) and Juniper ("Joon") (Mary Stuart Masterson), find each other and fall in love.Aidan Quinn also stars, and it was directed byJeremiah S. Chechik.
The film features Depp'sphysical comedy routines (which are based onsilent film comicsBuster Keaton,Charlie Chaplin, andHarold Lloyd). In the United States, it popularized the song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" byThe Proclaimers.[3]Benny & Joon was shot primarily on location inSpokane, Washington, while the train scenes at the beginning were shot nearMetaline Falls, Washington.
Benjamin "Benny" Pearl and his mentally ill sister Juniper ("Joon") live together following the deaths of their parents. A mechanic who owns a garage, Benny has little time for socializing due to his business and his caretaking of Joon, whose behavior has become increasingly erratic. Joon has driven away a series of housekeepers/caregivers who have declared her "unmanageable". Unable to leave Joon alone, Benny takes her to his poker game at a friend's house, where Joon loses a bet to Mike, a poker regular, that compels Benny to take charge of Mike's eccentric cousin, Sam. Initially angry at having Sam foisted on him, soft-hearted Benny becomes sympathetic upon learning that Mike has been compelling Sam to sleep in a cabinet under a sink.
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An avidBuster Keaton movie fan, Sam charms servers and patrons at a diner with a classicCharlie Chaplin routine using two bread rolls on forks to mimic dancing feet as well as aslapstick routine juggling plates. There Sam recognizes the waitress, Ruthie, a former actress, from a starring role in a low-budget horror film that Sam can quote verbatim. Impressed with Sam, Benny asks him to take care of Joon, as well as taking on housekeeping chores, which Sam does eccentrically but effectively. Joon has a hard time adjusting to Sam’s unusual housecleaning methods, which involve loud music while riding a chair with wheels to reach high spots with a broom. Though Joon kicks Sam out of the house, a conscientious Sam returns with a peace offering to appease her. Warming to him, Joon aids Sam, who isilliterate, when he struggles with writing to his mother.
After fixing her car, Benny asks out Ruthie, who has a second job as manager of an apartment building, but Benny abruptly ends the date when Ruthie seems to want intimacy. Benny still believes his obligations to Joon preclude his having a love life. When Benny attempts a second date, Ruthie now cuts the date short when Benny again hedges at intimacy while attempting to explain that his life is "complicated".
Benny, Joon, and Sam go to a park, where Sam starts doing more Chaplin-style slapstick tricks with his hat, a handkerchief, and physical acrobatics, attracting an appreciative crowd. Later that evening, while Benny is away convincing a client who is a talent agent to audition Sam, Sam and Joon are physically intimate and express love for each other. Upon returning, Benny suggests that Sam turn professional with his comedy routines. At the suggestion that Sam go on the road, Joon becomes agitated and makes Sam explain that he and Joon are romantically involved. Benny throws Sam out, yells at Joon, and shows her a pamphlet about a group home that the doctor suggested would be a more stable home for her. Joon starts hitting Benny, screaming that she hates him, and he pushes her away. Later, to make amends, Benny leaves to get her favorite pudding. While Benny is away, Sam returns, and he and Joon pack suitcases and leave on a bus together. Stressed out, Joon begins to hear voices in her head and argues aloud with them, causing a commotion that stops the bus. Two paramedics arrive to restrain Joon. When Benny arrives at the hospital, the doctor tells him Joon does not want to see him. After telling Benny off for his excessive fear of losing Joon, Sam goes to stay with Ruthie. Meanwhile, Benny feels guilty about his treatment of Joon.
Sam now works at avideo store, where Benny finds him and asks for his help. They go to the hospital. Benny apologizes to Joon, who accuses him of needing her to be ill. Benny agrees to let her set up her own apartment in Ruthie's building and tells her that Sam has come back for her. The siblings reconcile, and Sam and Joon are reunited. Sam and Joon move into the apartment complex that Ruthie manages, where Joon can be assisted. Later, Benny brings roses to Ruthie, telling her that his life is now "a lot less complicated". He takes another bouquet to Joon's apartment but leaves the flowers in the doorway when he sees Sam and Joon making grilled cheese sandwiches with a clothing iron on an ironing board.
Woody Harrelson was originally cast to play the role of Benny, whileLaura Dern was considered for the role of Joon.[4][5][6] Dern passed on the role, and Harrelson quit to take a role inIndecent Proposal.[4]Aidan Quinn was brought in at the last minute to replace Harrelson. A lawsuit later ensued withWinona Ryder, who was dating Johnny Depp at the time and was slated to play Joon after Dern quit. Depp and Ryder broke up, leaving the role of Joon open, which was given to Masterson just days before production began.[7]
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Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four and wrote, "The story wants to be about love, but is also about madness, and somehow it weaves the two together with a charm that would probably not be quite so easy in real life."[8]Owen Gleiberman gave the film agrade of "B", saying
...the movie is full of absurdistfripperies we're meant to find magically funny; mostly they're just cute (Sam cooking up grilled cheese sandwiches with an iron, a poker game in which a snorkel mask and baseball tickets are used as stakes). 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 (and then take said space for himself)? You already know the answer, but Quinn and Masterson—now gentle, now sniping—let it play out with tender conviction.[9]
Janet Maslin wrote:
In a more realistic film (and to some degree this film recallsDominick and Eugene, which also dealt with a hard-working brother taking care of a mentally impaired sibling), troubling issues might well shade the story. ButBenny and Joon succeeds in remaining blithe and sunny, directed by Jeremiah Chechik (National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation) 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.[10]
OnRotten Tomatoes,Benny & Joon holds an approval rating of 76% based on 41 reviews, with an average score of 5.80/10.[11] OnMetacritic the film has a score of 57 out of 100 based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[12] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[13]
In spite of its "commercially improbable story", the film became asleeper hit, evidence of the resurgence of date movies "after a decade dominated byaction film andhorror films."[4] In the first two weeks of alimited release,Benny & Joon grossed $8 million. Its domestic box office total reached over $23.2 million.[14] It grossed $7 million internationally for a worldwide total of $30 million.[2]
Roger Ebert writes that Joon is "schizophrenic, although the screenplay doesn't ever say the word out loud."[15]David J. Robinson remarks, "More convincing features of schizophrenia (undifferentiated type) 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 ("Smail") to refer to anyone who might fill the position, which is how Sam (Johnny Depp) enters her life."[16]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.[17] Reviewers Mick Martin and Marsha Porter remarked "[Although] 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".[18]
A stage musical adaptation of the movie premiered at theOld Globe Theatre in San Diego, California, from September 2 to October 22, 2017.[19] The musical features music byNolan Gasser, lyrics byMindi Dickstein, book by Kirsten Guenther, choreography by Scott Rink and direction by Jack Cummings III. The show ran atPaper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey, from April 4 to May 5, 2019. The Paper Mill production featuredClaybourne Elder as Benny, Hannah Elless as Joon andBryce Pinkham as Sam.[20][21]
| Award | Category | Recipients | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Globe Awards[22] | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Johnny Depp | Nominated |
| MTV Movie Awards[23] | Best Comedic Performance | Nominated | |
| Best On-Screen Duo | Johnny Depp andMary Stuart Masterson | Nominated | |
| Best Song From a Movie | The Proclaimers – "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" | Nominated |
After a decade dominated by action films, the sleeper success ofBenny & Joon—an oddball romance starring Masterson and Depp as seemingly ill-matched lovers who find each other a perfect fit—is the latest evidence that movies made for couples are finding their niche once again.
Laura was considered, not cast. We had met several times. She was interested in doing it, but I don't remember if she passed on it or I did.
