To tell you the truth, I have no earthly idea.
This is a multi-layered film, with so much going on in it, you have to wonder what the screenwriters wanted to accomplish. But suffice to say, it's definitely different. Is it a flawed movie? Perhaps, but utterly I have to say that I enjoyed the hell out of it, even if I'm still not sure what I saw. But keep in mind, I had the same reaction when I saw the Shyamalan POS The Village, and the real confusion about that "movie" was how so many talented people decided to throw their careers into the paths of that high-octane bus from Speed.
But Pumpkin's story is different. For the unfamiliar, it involves the always wonderful (and co-producer) Christina Ricci as a Breck-girl type sorority sister taking on an activity of a so-called "charity" that will allow the sorority to interact with the mentally and physically disabled, whereby hopefully "improving" the lives of the handicapped for the better, which in the end, will allow the sisters to beat the rival sorority that they have lost to for so many years.
Carolyn McDuffy (Ricci) is assigned to "Pumpkin", a loveable and surprisingly very smart young man, who appears to instantly fall in love with Carolyn. Carolyn is taken off-guard by Pumpkin's kindness, but within the course of a few days, she slowly realizes herself falling in love with him, despite the fact that she has a boyfriend Kent who is the star tennis player at the college.
What follows in the next 117 minutes is really indescribable. To be honest, I cannot rationally convey all that I want to say within this review. I basically have to quote the late, great Roger Ebert and say that Pumpkin "defies description". And it's so true. While I was watching it, I wasn't sure where or what the emphasis of the story was supposed to be. It was an uncomfortable viewing, but strangely, in a good way. Not in an "Oh, Lucas went back and f**ked with something else in the original trilogy?" way.
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| "But what does it all MEEEEEEAAAAANNN?????" |
The film takes the approach of an over-the-top, Douglas Sirk melodrama, with the initial main characters acting in ways that you might find in a 1950's educational documentary about the dangers of bad manners at the dinner table. (Yes, that film exists, and was riffed on MST3K if you are interested.) And strangely enough, the only character that seems to be giving the most honest portrayal is Pumpkin himself.
The movie takes several dark turns, none of which I will reveal here, and while it may seem like this labyrinthine puzzle of supposedly 60's cheese (the movie states at the beginning that it takes place "some time ago", but the actual time frame is not made clear), there are several absorbing scenes that you can't help see as a brilliant curiosity observation into the perils and hardships of everyday life. Parts of the film made me angry, such as Brenda Blethyn's turn as Pumpkin's ill-suffering, alcoholic mother, who seems to just want her troubled son to take the path of something he doesn't really want, and sees Carolyn's interference as something that "will pass".
However, the film works most importantly because of its ridiculous, tongue-in-cheek approach. A fight scene and a resolution towards the end of the film would have had a movie-goer in any other film throwing their hands up in disgust and thought they had just watched Twilight: The Dawn Of More Bad Acting. But the film's heart never falls astray and with all that has come before, it makes the ending much more plausible and easier to accept.
The supporting cast is excellent, which includes Lolita's Dominique Swain, Freddy Got Fingered's Marisa Coughlan, Sam Ball as Carolyn's tennis-playing beau, and in probably one of the funniest (if you can call it that) and most memorable performances, Harry Lennix as the extremely high-strung poetry teacher. He channels such over-the-top anger and resentment that would make even Bill Hicks blush.
And then there is Hank Harris, who portrays Pumpkin. Personally, I have not seen a portrayal of a mentally handicapped person acted so well since Leonardo DiCaprio climbed the water tower in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. An X-Files and Star Trek veteran, Harris brings a certain amount of sweetness and honesty to his role that is rarely seen in movies. It's an amazing performance, and it's a shame it wasn't recognized more.
Pumpkin is not a mainstream movie, to say the least. If anything, it's a definite WTF movie times 10. I cannot fully give all the reasons why I liked the film. I laughed, I got angry, I even thought I was going to start hating it. But whatever the reason, the film struck a chord that made me question what I had just seen. Some audiences may see that as not what a film is supposed to do, and would rather be slapped in the face with the next explosive blockbuster from Roland Emmerich, and that's OK. We're all different. We all have different ideas. And in the case of Pumpkin, the idea was brilliant, even if we're not sure what the hell it was all about. I guess you could call it a trick and a treat.
Pumpkin (2002), Directed by Anthony Abrams & Adam Larson Broder
Grade: A
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