Benny & Joon

Benny & Joon is a 1993 psychological romantic comedy film released by Metro-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 by Jeremiah S. Chechik.

Benny & Joon
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJeremiah S. Chechik
Produced byDavid Zanuck
Donna Roth
Written byBarry Berman
Lesley McNeil
Starring
Music byRachel Portman
CinematographyJohn Schwartzman
Edited byCarol Littleton
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
April 23, 1993 (1993-04-23)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$30 million[1]

The film is perhaps best known for Depp's humorous physical comedy routines (which are based on silent film comics Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd) and for popularizing, in the United States, the song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers.[2] 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

Production

Laura Dern and Woody Harrelson were originally cast to play the title roles.[3] Dern changed her mind, and Harrelson quit to take a role in Indecent Proposal.[3] Aidan Quinn was brought in at the last minute to replace Harrelson. Unbeknownst to Harrelson, the producer was Donna Roth, the wife of then-Paramount Studios head Joe Roth. A lawsuit later ensued with Winona 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.[4]

Release

Critical reception

Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, 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."[5] Owen Gleiberman gave the film a grade of "B", saying "the movie is full of absurdist fripperies 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."[6] Janet Maslin wrote:[7]

In a more realistic film (and to some degree this film recalls Dominick and Eugene, which also dealt with a hard-working brother taking care of a mentally impaired sibling), troubling issues might well shade the story. But Benny 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.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Benny & Joon holds a rating of 76% based on 41 reviews.[8] On Metacritic the film has a score of 57% based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9] A Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B on scale of A to F.[10]

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."[3] 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.[11] It grossed $7 million internationally for a worldwide total of $30 million.[1]

Portrayal of schizophrenia

Roger Ebert writes that Joon is "schizophrenic, although the screenplay doesn't ever say the word out loud."[12] David J. Robinson remarks that "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."[13] 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.[14] 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".[15]

Musical adaptation

A stage musical adaptation of the movie premiered at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California from September 2 to October 22, 2017.[16] The musical features music by Nolan Gasser, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, book by Kirsten Guenther, choreography by Scott Rink and direction by Jack Cummings III. The show runs at Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, New Jersey from April 4 to May 5, 2019. The Paper Mill production features Claybourne Elder as Benny, Hannah Elless as Joon and Bryce Pinkham as Sam.[17][18]

Accolades
Award Category Recipients Result
Golden Globe Awards Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Johnny Depp Nominated
MTV Movie Awards Best Comedic Performance Nominated
Best On-Screen Duo Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson Nominated
Best Song From a Movie The Proclaimers – "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" Nominated

References
  1. Klady, Leonard (January 3, 1994). "Warner Bros. tops hot box office 100". Variety. p. 42.
  2. http://toponehitwonders.com/pop/im-gonna-be-500-miles-the-proclaimers/
  3. Murphy, Ryan (May 7, 1993). "A Perfect Mismatch". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2011-09-29. After a decade dominated by action films, the sleeper success of Benny & 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.
  4. Saban, Stephen (October 1994). "The Mighty Quinn". Movieline. p. 67.
  5. Ebert, Roger (April 16, 1993). "Benny and Joon". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  6. Gleiberman, Owen (April 23, 1993). "Benny & Joon". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
  7. Maslin, Janet (April 16, 1993). "He's His Sister's Keeper, and What a Job That Is". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
  8. "Benny & Joon". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  9. "Benny & Joon". Metacritic.
  10. "BENNY AND JOON (1993)". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
  11. Benny & Joon at Box Office Mojo
  12. Ebert, Roger. Roger Ebert's Video Companion. p. 69.
  13. Robinson, David J. Reel Psychiatry: Movie Portrayals of Psychiatric Conditions. p. 36.
  14. Torrey, E. Fuller (28 March 2006). Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Patients, and Providers (fifth ed.). p. 377. ISBN 978-0-06-084259-8.
  15. Mick Martin, Marsha Porter (2001). Video movie guide 2002. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-345-42100-5.
  16. Hebert, James. " 'Benny & Joon' has charm but trips a bit in leap from screen to stage" San diego Union Tribune, September 16, 2017
  17. " 'Benny & Joon' Cast" papermill.org, retrieved April 14, 2019
  18. Gans, Andrew. "Claybourne Elder, Hannah Elless, and Bryce Pinkham Star in Paper Mill’s 'Benny & Joon' Musical, Opening April 14" Playbill, April 14, 2019
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