I had heard about this film many times in the past, and I've seen the images of the leading actor with his costume and choice of pork pie and top hats, so I had to see if I was going to like it. Basically Benjamin "Benny" Pearl (Aidan Quinn) and his mentally ill sister Juniper "Joon" Pearl (Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe's Mary Stuart Masterson) have lived together since the accidental death of their parents. Benny's friend Mike (Batman Forever's Joe Grifasi) has his cinephile cousin Sam (Golden Globe nominated Johnny Depp) staying with him, Joon joins a poker game, and loses a bet that means Sam has to live with the Pearls. Benny is outraged at first, but spending some time with Sam, and finding he cleaned the house, Benny allows him to stay as a "housekeeper", other housekeepers have been scared away by Joon's outbursts. Joon and Sam bond as he is illiterate, she helps him write a letter to his mother, they go to a local diner together where waitress Ruthie (Julianne Moore) works, Ruthie comes over for dinner, she and Benny bond when he takes her home, they set a dinner date. Alone together, Joon and Sam kiss, Benny and Ruthie have a fun date, but he ends it, wanting to get back home and look after Joon, and Sam tries to apply for a job advertised in the video store. Benny, Joon and Sam hang out in the park together, Sam attracts an appreciative crowd when he starts doing Buster Keaton style tricks with his hat and his body, Benny is amazed of his talent and stays to reflect in the park, while Joon and Sam back home make love, Sam tells Joon he loves her, she returns the sentiment. Benny persuades Sam that he could do more with his life and make a living with his talent, he arranges with buddy Randy Burch (William H. Macy) to have an audition. Joon becomes agitated with Benny, making comedy routine suggestions to Sam, and she makes Sam explain that they are romantically involved, Benny is angry and throws Sam out, and yells at Joon, telling her Dr. Garvey (Orphan's C.C.H. Pounder) thinks she would be better in a home. Benny leaves Joon, feeling guilty after he pushed away while she was hitting and screaming, Sam returns to the house, he and Joon pack suitcases and get on a bus, but Joon becomes agitated, Sam tries to calm her, but she becomes increasingly panicked, the bus stops and Joon is retrained and taken in an ambulance. Benny is told at hospital by Dr. Garvey that Joon does not want to see him, Sam also arrives, they argue in the waiting room, Sam goes to stay with Ruthie, also an apartment manager, and he gets the job working in the video store. Benny finds Sam and asks for his help to see Joon, using diversion from Sam, Benny is able to see Joon, he apologises and persuades her to consider getting her own apartment, and that Sam can come back with her. Joon is interviewed by Dr. Garvey, while Sam is swinging outside the window and waving, she says she wants to try living in her own apartment, the doctor agrees for her to make this choice. In the end, Benny and Joon reconcile, Sam and Joon are reunited, Benny and Ruthie become romantically involved, and Benny is happy to leave Joon and Sam alone together content and making grilled cheese sandwiches using an iron. Also starring Eraser's Oliver Platt as Eric, Commando's Dan Hedaya as Thomas and Liane Alexandra Curtis as Claudia. Masterson is convincing as the psychologically unstable, Quinn is likable as the concerned brother, but the show belongs to Depp, who is fantastic with his obsession for classic films, his impressions of Buster Keaton and Sir Charlie Chaplin, and his overall eccentric man-child personality. It is a fairly simple story about an odd character turning the lives of a brother and sister upside down, the adage of the film is "lunatics are saner than the rest of us", you will either lap up and enjoy this quirky, whimsical and heartfelt sleeper hit, or find it annoying, I personally really like it, it's a fun and good-natured romantic comedy drama. Good!
Review of Benny & Joon
