Pumpkin (2002)

Hmm.

I really wanted to like it. In fact, I was smitten with the character of Pumpkin, and his scenes with Brenda Blethyn and even Christina Ricci.

Unfortunately, I was completely underwhelmed by Ricci's performance. I love looking at her. Her features are eerily romantic and ethereal. But like many other actresses these days, her acting ability isn't be improved by her appearance. I'm reminded of Keanu Reeves, or Keira Knightley. I watch them, I tolerate them, but I am incapable of taking them seriously. I find that when they start talking, and are trying to invoke an emotion, they just take me right out of the moment, and I suddenly just don't believe in things.

Yes, parts of the movie were intentionally campy, which was fun, and Ricci can get away with her lackluster performance by overdoing it and batting those huge eyes of hers. But when the movie then plunges erratically into the dramatic, I find I only believe Pumpkin, who seems not to be retarded, but to have some sort of palsy.

I also disliked the fact that they OBVIOUSLY didn't cast any actually disabled people, only actors who seemed to have an awesome time imitating mental disability. Two of them I think were in the Mighty Ducks.


And that ending, with Ricci looking back at the camera in some ort of attempt at a post-modern end note, a la Orlando or Secretary. I get it! She's wiser. But unlike Orlando or Secretary, I have no idea how the Ricci's character learned the things she learned. She just seemed to believe one thing and then change all of a sudden.

I feel that the movie was badly edited, heavy handed and unfocused. In other words: long, patronizing and confusing. But kind of fun, I guess. I think it's worth it to watch Pumpkin and his mother.




March 25, 2008

Greek and Geek

This movie captures attitudes of greek life at USC where it is filmed, yet leads to a compassionate and passionate twist for one very perfectly popular sorority girl which expands her narrow sheltered mind to someone whom she would normally avoid. Its sweet and a bit twisted. Be sure and watch the sorority girls best kept secret- the fabulous DG hair flip which they secretly practice in the mirror. (its too funny) November 6, 2007

ROTN 5: Change of Heart

It wasn't believable that Christina Ricci, of all people, would pass muster as a sorority queen, though she goes all out raiding Reese Witherspoon's wardrobe and even borrows Reese Witherspoon's actual hair in her senseless quest for authenticity, but believability isn't what PUMPKIN is all about.

Basically this is the same movie as REVENGE OF THE NERDS only told from the sorority girl's POV, the beautiful girl who changes her mind and decides that nerds are cool. It was a unique comedy concept then, but why drag it out now once again? They should have just called this REVENGE OF THE NERDS 5: CHANGE OF HEART and strapped Anthony Edwards or Robert Carradine into that wheelchair, had them acting autistic. Christina Ricci's boyfriend Kent here is obviously based on Ted McGinley's "Stan Gable" ("Those nerds are a threat to our way of life!" In fact everything's the same in PUMPKIN except backwards, for no one ever had thought of telling the Nerds story from Betty Childs' perspective before, and it does open up some interesting narrative avenues, trouble is, it just isn't as funny as you'd like from a Tri-Lam followup. Even the execrable NERDS 4: NERDS IN LOVE (1994) had more laughs than PUMPKIN.

But on the other hand, those older movies didn't have Britain's most valiantly slumming actress, Brenda Blethyn, here seen as Pumpkin's protective mother acting her heart out, as if her agents had told her this was SECRETS AND LIES PART TWO. Please Brenda, wake up, come back to reality! And stop acting, acting, acting, it's undignified. I haven't seen slumming like this since Imelda Staunton played the nasty LA school principal in Hilary Swank's FREEDOM WRITERS. September 20, 2007

Dark, Droll and Dry Satire

Carolyn McDuffy (Christina Ricci) is a girl who assists her sorority by helping a bunch of mentally challenged adults for the "Challenged Games". Carolyn's training partner is Pumpkin Romanoff. The sheltered and superficial Carolyn is not used to situations like this and she often violates social norms and offends people without even realizing why certain actions and comments would be offensive. Unlike her sorority sisters, Carolyn has a good heart but she is still ignorant enough that she doesn't automatically earn any respect from the film's audience. She is a unique character that conveniently slips under our radar as such. At first apprehensive about dealing with Pumpkin, Carolyn soon comes to the realization that Pumpkin is at least genuine, which is completely unlike anyone else in her world, especially the girls in her sorority. Carolyn falls deeply in love with Pumpkin. This has a dramatic effect on the lives of both Carolyn and Pumpkin and that is essentially what this film focuses on.

Christina Ricci is almost always great in anything she has ever done. She takes on unique roles for the most part and only surfaces up to the mainstream in flashes these days. Pumpkin is not a mainstream film as it was hardly even released in the United States. Unfortunately it is roles like this that can showcase just how talented Ricci really is. Making characters we are not supposed to like enjoyable and entertaining is when she is at her best. Hank Harris plays Pumpkin and does a great job at a kind of role that is easy to compliment in most films, but he somehow manages to make Pumpkin fit appropriately even in this unusual environment. Brenda Blethyn plays Pumpkin's mother and is outstanding as always.

Pumpkin's overtones are primarily pretty serious ones in the way of a Romeo and Juliet kind of story. So why is this comedy? Why should we be laughing? Answering that honestly may extort some guilt but don't worry, you're not alone. That does not however make Pumpkin any less bold in its basic storyline and it is probably even bolder in its very existence as a comedy. Few films are as dry and demented as this. I couldn't help but think of Todd Solondz's Storytelling and Happiness while I watched Pumpkin. It seemed to contain the same provoking elements and bizarre dark humor. I never thought that was possible again after seeing Happiness but here it is. Perhaps Solondz is an influence. Much like Carolyn McDuffy's character, the movie Pumpkin's ignorance may anger you even if it is innocent, but the film's heart is for the most part in the right place in its own twisted way. July 2, 2007

Are the previous reviews JOKING?

To give this movie any rating better than among the top ten worst-made movies ever, yeah, EVER, you'd have to be way more brain-crippled than Pumpkin (one of the main characters). I have to believe, in order to keep going with my life, that this movie was MEANT to be as it is.

The acting is so melodramatically amateur you'd just about have to DIRECT for it to acheive such terrible performances. The reaction of the stock character-refinedly-thuggish poetry teacher when Carolyn drives off is like no other on-screen reaction you'll ever experience.

There are so many pricelessly terrible one-liners in this film that you could make a book off of it entitled "Terrible Quotes That Are Terrible."

Once you've subjected yourself to the first few seconds of torture, you're drawn into this catastrophic film like, yes, the over-used cliche of staring at an aweful car accident. Watch it, love it, find the sound track if you ever wish to torture yourself further (although the inappropriate screen-to-song arrangements help in fully showcasing the sountrack's absurdness). I want the part of my life back that it took to watch this film. Do yourself a favor - make better use of your given time slot and learn to withstand water torture or bamboo shoots up the fingernails - at least those would be good stories for the grandkids.

Don't get me wrong - I know there's a slot for reflective, thoughful movies and that there are also enough silly moviewatchers to think that this is one of them, but it's not. It's not not not. Think of my brilliance which you should have further considered if you ever choose to subject yourself to this Monster (should have been the name of THIS Christina Ricci film). April 14, 2007

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