VALUTAZIONE IMDb
6,1/10
9880
LA TUA VALUTAZIONE
Aggiungi una trama nella tua linguaA sorority girl finds her life falling apart after she develops romantic feelings for a mentally-disabled man.A sorority girl finds her life falling apart after she develops romantic feelings for a mentally-disabled man.A sorority girl finds her life falling apart after she develops romantic feelings for a mentally-disabled man.
- Regia
- Sceneggiatura
- Star
- Premi
- 3 candidature totali
Marisa Petroro
- Courtney Burke
- (as Marisa Parker)
Recensioni in evidenza
7=G=
"Pumpkin" slips mercurially through the genres ending up somewhere around black comedy with farcical overtones and biting undercurrents as it tells of a privileged, superficial sorority sister (Ricci) who "gets real" and falls for a mentally challenged man (Harris) while coaching him for a Special Olympics type event. The film boldly treads on thin ice, clumsily at times, as it tramples social constructs from decorum to morality while managing to maintain a marginally interesting storyline. Probably a real achievement given the experience of the auteur, "Pumpkin" will likely end up a love it or hate it flick of modest significance. Worth a look as a curiosity if nothing more. (B)
Webster's New World Dictionary defines the word retarded' as: 'slow or delayed in development, esp mentally.'
The movie's setup is certainly different from the typical boy meets girl' formula. We've all seen the nerd gets girl' bit. Well, this time it's taken to the next level' if you will. The plot revolves around a stereotypical prom queen' type of sorority girl falling in love with a mentally (and physically) handicapped boy, and how everything she once held dear falls apart because of it.
This is the sort of project that Christina Ricci has made a career out of doing. Namely, dark comedies. She plays against type insofar as she's considered a rather edgy' actress, yet her role in this flick is that of the popular girl'. A role in which is has obvious fun lampooning.
The subject matter would make one think that this would be a conventional straight drama, but it isn't, which is perhaps what elevates it above what could be typical tearjerker schlock. The film never takes itself too seriously, there's always a bit of winking' involved. Take for instance when Ricci's character tries to kill herself by overdosing on Night Quill and Pepto-Bismol-only to succeed in making herself sick to her stomach.
However, while satirical, it does make good points on how the general public view and think about the mentally handicapped. How beneath the platitudes and seeming self sacrifice, most people still view them as unequal' to the rest of us-people to whom mouth service is given, but true acceptance of is never a genuine consideration.
The way everyone turns on Ricci's character (her friends, her boyfriend, her parents) when it's made clear her feelings for her special friend'-it's very poignant and very real (if not also very farcical). And one supposes that it's because of that blatant bias of others that make her make out scenes with said special friend' so satisfying. She not only accepts him, but accepts him as a woman accepts a man. One has to admit, there's something oddly esoteric about seeing her have an implied sex scene with a retard'. It sort of warms the cockles of one's heart.
Off beat' is the best way to quantify this film. It toes the line between full-blown farce and full on drama. Satirical yet genuine. And this is coming from a guy that usually avoids these types of flicks like the Bubonic Plague!
The movie's setup is certainly different from the typical boy meets girl' formula. We've all seen the nerd gets girl' bit. Well, this time it's taken to the next level' if you will. The plot revolves around a stereotypical prom queen' type of sorority girl falling in love with a mentally (and physically) handicapped boy, and how everything she once held dear falls apart because of it.
This is the sort of project that Christina Ricci has made a career out of doing. Namely, dark comedies. She plays against type insofar as she's considered a rather edgy' actress, yet her role in this flick is that of the popular girl'. A role in which is has obvious fun lampooning.
The subject matter would make one think that this would be a conventional straight drama, but it isn't, which is perhaps what elevates it above what could be typical tearjerker schlock. The film never takes itself too seriously, there's always a bit of winking' involved. Take for instance when Ricci's character tries to kill herself by overdosing on Night Quill and Pepto-Bismol-only to succeed in making herself sick to her stomach.
However, while satirical, it does make good points on how the general public view and think about the mentally handicapped. How beneath the platitudes and seeming self sacrifice, most people still view them as unequal' to the rest of us-people to whom mouth service is given, but true acceptance of is never a genuine consideration.
The way everyone turns on Ricci's character (her friends, her boyfriend, her parents) when it's made clear her feelings for her special friend'-it's very poignant and very real (if not also very farcical). And one supposes that it's because of that blatant bias of others that make her make out scenes with said special friend' so satisfying. She not only accepts him, but accepts him as a woman accepts a man. One has to admit, there's something oddly esoteric about seeing her have an implied sex scene with a retard'. It sort of warms the cockles of one's heart.
Off beat' is the best way to quantify this film. It toes the line between full-blown farce and full on drama. Satirical yet genuine. And this is coming from a guy that usually avoids these types of flicks like the Bubonic Plague!
As I watched the film "Pumpkin" recklessly and fearlessly go from somewhat absurd situation to complete and utter silliness, I got the sense that it was made with a sense of joy that few movies are made with these days. The fact that the film refuses to wink at the audience or play funny music during all the absurdity, makes it all the more impressive. Everything in this movie subverts itself - - in the big satiric moments, this is obvious (the car crash after which Kent's face is unscratched), but one must look closely at what seem to be serious or sentimental moments to realize that these are indeed hilarious and subversive moments as well (the romantic dialogue between Carolyn and Pumpkin is completely absurdist if you keep in mind Pumpkin's "problem.")
Indeed, most Americans are used to films cueing them as to when they are being serious and when they are being funny and audiences are trained to watch for this. Because "Pumpkin" doesn't do this, a lot of its humor probably goes over the heads of people not used to anything this "poker-faced" - - especially when done with such sweetness.
The reviews I've read try to condemn "Pumpkin" by pigeonholing it into one genre or another - - either the mean-spirited sharp satire of Todd Solondz or the over-the-top buffoonery of the Farrelly Brothers - - but "Pumpkin" is neither. Indeed, when you realize that "Pumpkin" fits in no box and, in effect, challenges our notion what a movie should be, you're set free and you begin to laugh at what is the funniest film I've seen in a long time.
Indeed, most Americans are used to films cueing them as to when they are being serious and when they are being funny and audiences are trained to watch for this. Because "Pumpkin" doesn't do this, a lot of its humor probably goes over the heads of people not used to anything this "poker-faced" - - especially when done with such sweetness.
The reviews I've read try to condemn "Pumpkin" by pigeonholing it into one genre or another - - either the mean-spirited sharp satire of Todd Solondz or the over-the-top buffoonery of the Farrelly Brothers - - but "Pumpkin" is neither. Indeed, when you realize that "Pumpkin" fits in no box and, in effect, challenges our notion what a movie should be, you're set free and you begin to laugh at what is the funniest film I've seen in a long time.
"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.
I'm not sure if this movie goes way too far, or not far enough. A dark teenage comedy, Pumpkin tells of the story of the perfection obsessed sorority girl Carolyn McDuffy who falls for Pumpkin, a mentally challenged boy she meets when her sorority house agrees to coach some `special people.' The film forces the viewer to look inward and confront their own prejudices, but it does so in such a strange and weirdly paced way that it is hard to recommend Pumpkin, although I think it is an interesting movie. I wish someone like Lloyd Kaufman would have directed it, someone who would take the gloves off and go for the jugular in every scene and really give this material some bite. A movie like this will only work if the filmmaker goes in completely committed to the idea. As it is Pumpkin seems to teeter on the brink of outrageousness, but pulling back every time to stay on the PC side of the fence. It's a shame because this could have been a truly wonderful and subversive movie.
Lo sapevi?
- QuizThe sorority Alpha Omega Pi is actually based on UC Berkeley's Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. The writer Adam Larson Broder lived next door to their house when he went to college there.
- BlooperWhen Carolyn is taking thing out of her medicine cabinet, she clears the bottom shelf, save for the NyQuil bottle on the left. When the bottom shelf gets a close up seconds later, the NyQuil bottle is there with a few other bottles.
- Citazioni
Judy Romanoff: You've raped my son! Whore! Slut! You prostitute! Pedophile! Pumpkin will never understand what you've done to him!
- ConnessioniEdited from Hudson Hawk - Il mago del furto (1991)
- Colonne sonoreSorority Theme
Composed by Robert Hackl (as Bob Hackl), Ken Stange and John Ottman
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Dettagli
Botteghino
- Lordo Stati Uniti e Canada
- 308.552 USD
- Fine settimana di apertura Stati Uniti e Canada
- 30.514 USD
- 30 giu 2002
- Lordo in tutto il mondo
- 308.552 USD
- Tempo di esecuzione1 ora 53 minuti
- Colore
- Mix di suoni
- Proporzioni
- 1.85 : 1
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