Benny & Joon

BENNY & JOON (12)

D: Jeremiah Chechik

MGM (Susan Arnold & Donna Roth)

USA 🇺🇸 1993

98 mins

Comedy/Romance

W: Barry Berman

DP: John Schwartzmann

Ed: Carol Littleton

Mus: Rachel Portman

Johnny Depp (Sam), Mary Stuart Masterson (Joon), Aidan Quinn (Benny), Julianne Moore (Ruthie), Oliver Platt (Eric), CCH Pounder (Dr. Garvey), Dan Hedaya (Thomas), William H. Macy (Randy Burch)

A sweet romantic drama about an extroverted mime (Depp) who falls in love with an artist with a history of mental health issues, but her overprotective brother wants to keep the two of them apart.

Johnny Depp's career was still blossoming when he started in this and he's absolutely perfect as the young misfit and does some fantastic Buster Keaton & Charlie Chaplin impressions to amuse the lovably quirky Joon.

It's a nice film, but it doesn't really explore the mental illness theme or the potential family crisis in the subplot, but it's worth watching just for the performances of Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson

6/10

Mary Stuart Masterson & Johnny Depp in Benny & Joon

Did You Know:

Winona Ryder was set to play Joon, and at the time was dating Johnny Depp. Ryder dropped out of the project following her break-up with Depp.