By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Adam Larson Broder | Anthony Abrams
Starring: Brenda Blethyn | Christina Ricci | Dominique Swain | Hank Harris
Country: united_states
Year: 2002
Running time: 113
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0265591
Bob says: “If a film ever had a multiple-personality disorder, this is it. Christina Ricci chucks it all, falling head-over-heels with disabled Pumpkin, although he appears to do little for her except ease her guilty conscience. What exactly were directors Adam Larson-Broder and Tony Abrams trying to pull off here? Fairytale love story? Movie of the week inspirational? College satire? TragiCom? By trying to do it all, PUMPKIN winds up a failed, ineffective effort. That said, the film is compulsively watchable, although at times you can’t remember just why you’re still watching it.” 2 1/2 cats
Michael says: “There are only two ways you can go if you want to make a movie about a perky, sorority girl who irrevocably alters her life when she falls in love with a physically/mentally challenged person. You can make a serious movie, with all the emotional and societal impacts, which would be a very difficult movie to make well, or you can make a satire that goes so far over the top that its absurdity somehow works. Anything in the middle would probably be dreadful.
“PUMPKIN goes the absurd route, and for the most part succeeds pretty well. At least much better than I’d expected. Christina Ricci stars as Carolyn, the aforementioned sorority girl, who is assigned to coach the title character for the ‘Special Athletes’ competition. Her sorority is trying to win Sorority of the Year at her college, and by taking on this serious charity, they hope to earn PC points. But when Carolyn starts to fall in love with Pumpkin, despite her ‘perfect’ world view and ‘perfect’ tennis star boyfriend, she finds that life isn’t the sunny breeze that she always thought it was.
“PUMPKIN veers from crass sentimentality to outrageous ludicrousness with dizzying speed… that is until the last half hour or so, when all the stops come out and things go waaay over the top. The result is a funny (occasionally hilarious) tromping through the world of PCisms. Not everything works, but overall, PUMPKIN’s a pretty entertaining movie, even as your wincing at the unPCness of it all.
“The cast is strong, with 3 past Chlotrudis nominees (Ricci, Brenda Blethyn as Pumpkin’s mother and Harry Lennix [TITUS] as Carolyn’s poetry teacher. I have to give high marks to Ricci. After a string of successful indie and offbeat films (BUFFALO 66, OPPOSITE OF SEX, SLEEPY HOLLOW) she floundered for a couple of years and I thought she’d lost her momentum. I’m pleased to see that at the very least, she’s still choosing offbeat and potentially challenging roles rather than sliding into the money-making Hollywood machine.
“I couldn’t guess if people would like PUMPKIN or not, (It has received some scathing reviews as well) but I sure did. In fact, I like it more and more as time passes. I would recommend it on video, where you won’t be too disappointed if you hate it.” 3 cats
Laura says: “Here’s a movie sure to confound many! This off the wall comedy takes aim at political correctness, satirizes everything in its path and yet manages to charm. Co-directed by writer Adam Larson Broder and Anthony Abrams, PUMPKIN induces disorientation in its audience until they latch on to its skewered world view.
“Ricci is perky pearled perfection as the blonde bobbed sorority sister who simply screams when presented with the unplanned. Hank Harris has little dialogue, but handles the strenuous physical characterization well. His longest sentence may consist of three words, but when they come, they’re a doozy. Blethyn plays his mom hysterically, drowning her realization of Pumpkin’s adulthood in alcohol. Lisa Banes plays Mater McDuffy like one of those dolls whose expressions changes when you turn its head, all smiling sweetness to her daughter’s face and horrified denial behind it.” 3 1/2 cats
For Laura’s complete review: “http://www.reelingreviews.com/pumpkin.htm”
Robin says: “The Alpha Omega Pi sorority of Southern California University have longed to wrest the title of Sorority of the Year from the 5’8″+ ‘mastodons’ of the Tri Omega house. This year the A.O.Pi’s think they have an ace-in-the-hole when they volunteer to help train a group of handicapped kids for the upcoming special Olympics-like event. But, perky sister Caroline (Christina Ricci) has a problem with the helping her assigned student, a boy named Pumpkin.
“I watched the production clips supplied by the studio for PUMPKIN, before going to see it, and I groaned. The individual scenes looked silly, stagy and without any humor. But, I had watched them out of context and was surprised (pleasantly I might add) when I walked out of the theater to discover that the film is an absolute charmer.
“It is always a pleasure when you go into a film with low expectations and come out discovering a pleasant diamond in the rough. PUMPKIN is not a perfect film. It meanders at times and is a little too long, but there is such smart writing, wonderful performances and well-told humor you can forgive the flaws.” 4 cats
For Robin’s complete review: “http://www.reelingreviews.com/pumpkin.htm”