BENNY & JOON

REVIEWED BY CARISSA HORTON

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: sexual content, brief harsh language

Rated:

Joon Pearl (Mary Stuart Masterson) is a delightful young woman with a sweet spirit who loves to paint, read, work in the garden and... light things on fire! She has a disease of the mind that can change her wonderful personality in an instant to something almost alien in temper. It doesn’t happen often though, so she and her older brother Benny (Aidan Quinn) are mostly content. These two are the only ones left of their family since their parents died 12 years ago, and Benny has been faithful in taking care of Joon. Their lives are calm though boring, until Sam pops in unexpectedly. Sam (Johnny Depp) is mostly an unwanted by most of his relatives. He styles himself after Buster Keaton and has one of the strangest personalities you’ll ever run across, yet he has a gentle heart.

Since Joon terrified their last housekeeper into quitting, Benny has to take her with him when he visits his friends. Which is where you see Sam clearly for the first time; up a tree as they drive by. Joon’s condition has worsened because she’s left home alone all day while Benny works at the local garage. Depression is slowly eating away at her, and it starts to come out in her paintings. That is until Benny is late for one of his poker games of an evening, and Joon plays in his place. Money isn’t used for the pot, but things lying around the house. One of the fellas wants to get rid of his cousin so he bets that the loser will take said cousin off his hands. Well, Joon loses and winds up with, you guessed it, Sam. Benny can’t squirm his way out of the deal, so is forced to bring Sam home, and after a while actually starts liking the guy, mostly because Joon has grown fond of him.

The story is upbeat and cheerful most of the time due to Sam’s antics. It’s a pity that swear words and one sexual situation were added, because they weren’t necessary. There are a few uses of sh*t, Jesus’ name used way out of context, and one use of the f-word. If this film would have been released today, it would have gotten a PG13 rating for the sex scene alone... it starts off with gentle kissing, then rolling around in bed, and finally fades out to see them cuddling together on the couch afterward. Sam and Joon never feel guilt for the night they spent together. They aren’t regretful, and Benny lets it slide at the end of the movie. Benny & Joon is worth watching, at least for mature teens and adults. There are some very humorous moments and comments. Sam’s character is priceless, and his relationships with the other characters is played well. It’s a well-made comedy with fascinating twists and turns that almost everyone will enjoy.