Benny & Joon (1993)

Brief: Benny (Aidan Quinn) has been caring from his mentally ill sister, Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson), since their parents passed away years ago. Their lives seemingly take a turn for the better when Joon loses a hand of poker and gains the other player’s cousin, Sam (Johnny Depp).

Or, as the tagline puts it: “A romance on the brink of reality.” Oh, taglines. I love taglines. I should get a job writing taglines. I bet that’s a real job.

I really think that Masterson should make more movies. I haven’t seen her in anything in years. Everything that I watch from years ago with her in it (e.g. Fried Green Tomatoes, Bed of Roses, Married to It), I love. She’s so good! Seriously, she has this very winsome way about her that I wish I got to see more.

As for Quinn, I think he’s not getting the props he deserves. When was the last time you heard anything about him? He’s sweet and charming but with a hint of deep-seated emotional issues below the surface. I think that’s what allows him to play villains as well as heroes. Good for him. Diversity is your friend.

Of course, there’s Depp. All I can say is it’s about time he started getting the recognition he deserves as one of America’s greatest actors. He’s a complete chameleon, but one that could charm the cork out of a champagne bottle. It apparently takes 20 years for other people to figure that out.

And then you get Julianne Moore, Oliver Platt, CCH Pounder, William H. Macy, Dan Hedaya, and Joe Grifasi along for the ride. It’s a good time.

To be honest with you, Jeremiah S. Chechik isn’t a very good director. He struggles with what he should make compelling and what he should leave by the wayside. It can make the tale underwhelming if you aren’t prepared to deal with that.

Barry Berman, the writer, has done very little. I don’t really know why. He knows what’s funny and what isn’t, and he’s pretty adept at tugging at your heart strings.

Overall, yes, the movie is sentimental fluff. But it’s good sentimental fluff. The kind you can enjoy over and over again.