Pumpkin [2002] - A comedy for the romantically challeneged
http://www.movieposter.com/posters/a...ain/3/MPW-1641
INTRO
Source: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_%28film%29
Pumpkin is a 2002 romantic dark comedy film starring Christina Ricci. It is a story of forbidden love between a developmentally-handicapped young man and a sorority girl. The film was directed by Anthony Abrams and Adam Larson Broder and written by Broder.
STORYLINE
Source: IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265591/
Perky, perfect Carolyn and her Alpha Omega Pi sisters plan to win Sorority of the Year by impressing the Greek Council with a killer charity: coaching mentally challenged athletes for the regional Challenged Games. When Carolyn's assigned to coach Pumpkin she's terrified at first, but soon sees in him something she's never seen before: a gentle humanity and honest clarity that touches her soul. To the horror of her friends and Pumpkin's overprotective mother, Carolyn falls in love, becoming an outcast in the process. As Carolyn's "perfect life" falls apart, Pumpkin teaches her that perfect isn't always perfect after all.
TRAILER
Ok, I couldn't find a good trailer for this movie. I guess because it is an obscure film that didn't garnish much attention. I'll show this scene instead. It is the Sorority Dance in the beginning of the film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBPQZ...eature=related
REVIEWS
Rotten Tomatoes http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pumpkin/
This is the sort of Pumpkin that really deserves to be smashed. -Jay Boyar Orlando Sentinel
By presenting an impossible romance in an impossible world, Pumpkin dares us to say why either is impossible -- which forces us to confront what's possible and what we might do to make it so. -Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Tribune
Wikipedia source
Pumpkin received mixed reviews from critics; 27 of 43 reviews compiled by Rotten Tomatoes were negative, resulting in a "Tomatometer" score of 39%.[2] At Metacritic, the film received a metascore of 46% based on 24 reviews.
One of the most positive reviews was by Roger Ebert for the Chicago Sun-Times; he wrote, "Pumpkin is alive, and takes chances, and uses the wicked blade of satire in order to show up the complacent political correctness of other movies in its campus genre." Michael O'Sullivan of the Washington Post also approved of the film, calling it "an odd and oddly endearing romantic black comedy." On the other end of the spectrum, Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote that the film "gets along on curiosity value for a while, but becomes increasingly unconvincing and ludicrous as it staggers endlessly toward the finish line."
IMDB User Review
"Your relationship is...inappropriate," one of Carolyn's sadly superficial sorority sisters says to her in the course of "Pumpkin", and that statement sums up this superbly uncategorizable exercise to perfection. Nothing about "Pumpkin" is appropriate, from the soundtrack choices (the music in the fight scene between Pumpkin and Kent in particular), the casting (it was a near-shock to see Dominique Swain with her clothes on through the ENTIRE FILM for openers), the story itself and the shamelessly ambiguous manner in which it's presented. It works, though, thanks to a supremely conflicted and tender performance from Christina Ricci and the simplicity, sensitivity and sincerity of Hank Harris' interpretation of the title character. Life isn't just one thing, it's all things all at one time sometimes. Just like this movie.
LINKS
IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265591/
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_%28film%29
Rotten Tomatoes
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pumpkin/
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Well, I was uncomfortably surprised to find out this movie was not what my friend had told me. I expected something absurdly comical, but the film took a serious tone with what I wasn't sure to be comedy. This film made me feel several parts uncomfortable, interested, and then estranged from reality. Overall, I enjoyed the film.
