I have a tendency to watch films like this from a certain distance and on a different level than I think the casual viewer would. That's because I have two adult children who have struggled with mental illness, one more severely than the other. Both are functional now but one always wonders how or when a future tipping point might occur. With that first hand perspective, I didn't get a clear sense that Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson) was all that sick - "because you know, ..., except for being a little mentally ill, she's pretty normal." That was Sam's (Johnny Depp) analysis, and I think he got it right. There were only a couple of episodes where Joon acted out abnormally - the one time she got angry with Benny (Aidan Quinn) over Sam, and later on with Sam on the bus. But on both occasions, one could understand how a 'normal' person might react the same way.So with that said, I saw this more as an eccentric little love story, with maybe Sam being the challenged character more so than Joon. I mean seriously, Benny won (lost?) him in a card game, when have you ever heard of that happening? It's Sam who helps the viewer understand the point of view that eccentricity and being a little 'off' isn't always such a bad thing and that maybe there's a little room for a quirky character in everyone's life.So maybe it's not a great movie, but you'll probably remember "Benny and Joon" a lot longer than the last action adventure you just watched. It doesn't need over the top chase scenes or mindless explosions to put it's message across, and you come out of the experience with a nice warm feeling that things just might work out if you apply a little love and understanding with the crazy.

A lovely little film, beautifully made and depicting mental illness in all its complexities extraordinarily well. I.E. mentally ill people are NOT stupid.At times it is laugh out loud funny and the scenes with Johnny Depp in the park are magical.Aidan Quinn was brilliantly cast as the caretaking brother - a fully rounded character, now and again railing against the responsibility of taking care of his sister, Joon.The trauma of the parents' death was well done. This could have been significant in Joon's instability but thankfully, there were no 2 X 4's.Sam, channelling Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, is a delight.And Joon's studio - what a great room! A wonderful fun film. Would watch again.8 out of 10.

Searching round online for a friend recently, who was after any info related to a Bollywood movie called Barfi!,I was surprised to discover,that the new Bollywood title seemed to have been greatly inspired by a near forgotten 1993 Rom-Com Drama starring Johnny Depp.With being very interested in discovering where the Bollywood movie took its inspiration from,I decided that it was a good time to pay Benny and Joon a hopefully special visit.The plot:Finding it increasingly difficult to look after his mentally ill sister Juniper "Joon" Pearl,Benjamin "Benny" Pearl decides to pay a visit to the family's doctor (Dr.Garvey),in the hope that she can find a solution so that Benny can continue to look after Joon and keep a grip on his job as a mechanic.With having always been impressed with how Benny has coped with the pressure of looking after his sister,ever since their parents tragically died in a car crash 12 years ago,Dr.Garvey advises Benjamin that it might be a good idea if he allowed for some "space" to be created between himself and Jupier,by allowing Joon to go into a group home.Feeling uneasy about Garvey's suggestion,Benjamin promises her that he will think about the idea,quickly leaves Garvey's office,and heads home to Joon.Giving up on finding someone who can take care of his sister so that he attend a weekly poker night with his work mates,Benny decides that for the first time ever,he will take Joon along to the poker night.Pleased to see all his workmates and Joon getting on with each other,Benny decides to leave the table so that he can sort out some food.Returning to the table,Benjamin is shocked to find out that Juniper is playing an intense game of poker with a work buddy of his called Mike.Demanding that the game is stopped,Benny discovers that he is to late,when Joon reveals her game-losing hand.Prepairing to pay up Joon's debt,Benny is left speechless when Mike tells him that the bet does not involve money,but instead involves Benny having to take care of Mike's mentally ill cousin called Sam.View on the film:Showing signs of what could have been if he had not had a terrible double knock-out in his film career with Diabolique and the infamous 1998 box office bomb The Avengers, (which,in the guys defence,was re-cut against his wishes by the studio)director Jeremiah S.Chechik uses long,elegant zoom takes which allow the natural chemistry that the actors/character have with each other to be placed right at the front of the movie,with the long tacks also allowing for subtle changes in the body language from each of the characters to rise to the suffice.Along with the classy,long zoom takes and filling the soundtrack with some prime Grunge cuts, (with one of the highlights being a song used from the great band Temple of the Dog)Chechik and cinematography John Schwartzman keep any dark colours firmly isolated to the movies one flashback scenes,so that they can scatter the film with light colours,that along with connecting to Joon's interest in art,also gives the film an irresistible breezy atmosphere.Keeping away from the traditional route of Rom-Com Drama's where a boo- hiss baddie does everything to tear the characters apart,the excellent screenplay by Barry Berman and Lesley McNeil instead shows each of the characters to be flawed,but good hearted people,with the terrific group of supporting actors (William H.Macy,Oliver Platt and Joe Grifasi) emphasising the tight-knitted community that Berman and McNeil build in the screenplay.Taking things in a pretty original direction by making Benny and Joon brother and sister instead of lovers,Berman and McNeil show the family bond to run strong between each of them,with Joon trying to sort out a date for Benny,and Benny doing his best to handle the problems relate to Joon's mental difficulty due to how much he cares about his sister,which also strongly makes the important,non-preachy central message of the film that people with mental problems or learning difficulties should be treated with the same amount of respect that others receives.Shuffling into the film with the spirit of Buster Keaton in his wings,Johnny Depp gives a splendid performance as Sam,with Depp performing a number of eye-catching,Keaton inspired stunts himself.Along with the impressive stunt work,Depp also does very well at showing Sam slowly break out of his timed shell,as he finds himself,initially unknowingly building a strong connection between Benny and Joon,with Joon's mental problems allowing Sam to feel that he has met someone who he can deeply relate to.Placed at the heart of the movie,Mary Stuart Masterson and Aidan Quinn each give great performances that compliment Benny and Joon's strahants and weaknesses,with Quinn giving a big warm hearted performance as Benny,who he shows is starting to feel distraught over being unable to find a away to deal with Joons difficulties,and Masterson showing Joon trying to deal with her mental problems,with the help of her loyal brother Benny and "new" family member Sam.

Benny & Joon is a romantic comedy film about how two eccentric individuals, Sam and Juniper,also known as "Joon",who find each other and fall in love.It stars Johnny Depp,Mary Stuart Masterson,Aidan Quinn together with William H. Macy,Julianne Moore and Oliver Platt.It was written by Barry Berman and Lesley McNeil; and it was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik.Benny runs a small car repair shop. He must also take care of his mentally ill sister Juniper, better known as Joon. After losing a bet, Benny is forced to bring another eccentric into his house.His name is Sam, the cousin of a friend. Not inclined to conversation, Sam expresses himself by performing Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton routines.Not surprisingly, he immediately hits it off with Joon. As Sam and Joon fall deeper in love, Benny for the first time in life experiences the pangs of jealousy.Good acting,funny plot and great characters.Although there are some problems in the script and directing,the performances of the cast overshadowed them particularly Johnny Depp,who did extremely well as a physical comedian.His portrayal of Sam is delicately touching, a maladjusted waif with both soul and grit.Watch this for his performance alone.Added to that,Mary Stuart Masterson resists the temptation to soften Joon. That in itself made this movie compelling and worth watching.