The idea of BENNY & JOON is pretty good. Adult brother (Aiden Quinn) and sister (Mary Stuart Masterson) live together because the sister is mentally unstable and he needs to look after her. However, over time, it's obvious he can't control her and they both need space to grow--but Benny cannot bring himself to admit this. Being so inextricably intertwined isn't good for either of them. Into this less than idea situation appears the rather child-like and bizarre character played by Johnny Depp. This oddball is a bit like Chaplin and Keaton combined and it's obvious he's addicted to these silent comedies, as Depp nicely recreates the dance with the diner rolls Chaplin did in THE GOLD RUSH.
Overall, the biggest plus was Depp's strange but endearing performance. This, combined with the basic plot idea do make the film worth seeing. Unfortunately, two elements really distracted as well. First, exactly what sort of mental illness Joon has is rather vague and strange. In some ways she seems to have a combination of schizophrenia and an intermittent explosive disorder---but at other times she seems reasonably normal. Secondly, and this REAALLY irritated me, is that at least three times during the film they had long musical montages that seemed more like music videos than part of a film and they really came out of nowhere--looking more like padding than anything else or perhaps the film was being deliberately marketed solely towards teens.
Still, it's an agreeable little film--just don't expect a lot of magic.
Overall, the biggest plus was Depp's strange but endearing performance. This, combined with the basic plot idea do make the film worth seeing. Unfortunately, two elements really distracted as well. First, exactly what sort of mental illness Joon has is rather vague and strange. In some ways she seems to have a combination of schizophrenia and an intermittent explosive disorder---but at other times she seems reasonably normal. Secondly, and this REAALLY irritated me, is that at least three times during the film they had long musical montages that seemed more like music videos than part of a film and they really came out of nowhere--looking more like padding than anything else or perhaps the film was being deliberately marketed solely towards teens.
Still, it's an agreeable little film--just don't expect a lot of magic.