mrbreadtoast-06562 The group which controls Hollywood has long been trying to destroy cultural norms in America. This movie is yet another example of their desire to do so. The athletic white male boyfriend is demonized and made to appear inferior to a mentally & physically disabled male. That's wasn't enough as their goal was also to steer attractive white females to anyone but an attractive athletic white male -- even the mentally & physically handicapped. This movie was a precursor to the current Hollywood trend of pairing white women with male POC, and also demonizing white males. Folks need to open their eyes and not allow themselves or their children to be brainwashed with movies like this that normalize relationships which fail at astronomically high rates. At times Pumpkin felt like a 'B' horror flick as the over-acting and flow of the movie just didn't tie together. It would be one thing for an attractive person to have a relationship with a physically handicapped person, but pairing them with a mentally & physically handicapped person is just going too far, unless it was just a one-time sort of thing.At one point the athletic boyfriend fights the disabled male, and the result and aftermath are predictable and not realistic. The ending was completely absurd. I'm surprised they didn't have a child together like they did in Forest Gump.
keelhaul-80856 This movie is so bizarre LOL. I have seen it several times on TV over the years, and I was always lost. Now, I think I kind of get the direction they were taking this in, but it is still strange. I give it 3 stars for originality, and making my family laugh heartily at several parts. I think they leave this ambiguous on purpose, upon further inspection, because I used to just think the writers were weird fruitcakes, and the movie was utter garbage. It is still really stupid, and doesn't quite work, but again, I can at least give them points for entertaining us with something that makes you go "What? What does this mean?" The funniest parts that kill the film, though are: 1)How does a sorority girl ever fall in love with a handicapped person?2)Why is this poor kid named Pumpkin?3)Romanoff makes us think of Romanov, which had me picturing the Russian Revolution and murder of the czar's family. Maybe that one is just weird on my part.4)Pumpkin seems to fluctuate between MENTALLY retarded and PHYSICALLY handicapped. This greatly diminishes other aspects of the story, and how to truly approach or understand the meaning of the material. This makes it funny in a stupid writing sort of way, instead of comedic way. For instance, at the start, Pumpkin can only sit in a wheelchair, barely throw a frisbee, and barely stand up or talk without falling over. Are we really to believe that a few weeks of loving moments from the girl suddenly gives him the ability to be punched 10 times, and throw a muscular college guy on the ground, attempt to drive cars, compete in the special olympics, have sex, ride a bus to find someone, or a myriad of other actions that his invalid former self couldn't do 40 mins. earlier?????? This leaves you wondering if the sorority girl is really in love with a mentally-challenged guy, a physically-challenged guy with a normal brain, or an alien mutant that assumes random forms of body and intelligence at will.5) Did they really all forget that they left a boy in a wheelchair on the beach, and leave to drive the fat girl(from Mike and Molly) all the way home, leaving him sunburned, at the mercy of the ocean or attackers????? So stupid I had to laugh.6)Would the tennis player dude really be mean to everyone, and then be that nice to the fat friend at the beach, and concerned over her feelings?7) The irony of the tennis player ending up in a wheelchair, and then coaching the special team?!?!?!?! Kind of brilliant, kind of idiotic.8)The suspension of disbelief is just beyond ridiculous. A sorority girl sneaks into a retarded guy's bedroom to bang him, and then ruins her sorority sisters' chances of winning SOY awards? The premise of sorority airheads was very true, and comical, but they kind of use it to the extreme. 9)Why are neighbors lined up on the streets of Christina Ricci's community when she drops out of college. Do random people know when you are driving up to talk to your mom and about dropping out of school? This scene is really hilarious in a subtle way.10) Does a college, community, or sorority really give a damn if you do stupid stuff and drop out of the club or school??? They acted like they would really put on an intervention for this girl to get her back to the campus because everyone needed her so badly to win prestigious awards and hold up the pillars of the college society on campus. Most people would have already appointed a new chick to run things and just moved on.11)Everyone in the movie looks like they are from anther era in time, and Pumpkin's expressions are just idiotic. He goes from not being able to do anything, to being able to talk and play sports and fight.12)NONE OF THIS WOULD EVER HAPPEN ANYWHERE IN A MILLION YEARS!!!!!!!!This is funny, but so stupid on so many levels. I hope that was the point, because the meandering from dark comedy, to tragedy, to drama, to satire, to action, to fantasy-- and back again, throughout the film, really leaves you like WTF???? Plus, I would have rated it higher if the film was shorter. It feels like torture and punishment after the first hour or so. The run time for something this awkward and experimental should not be so grueling and drawn out. You get the whole point 100 times, long before the movie ends. The 1st half is funny; the 2nd is just moronic.
Gemma This film was hilarious at time, yet dealt with the subject of a handicapped young man very well. Despite not ever really knowing his handicap, as he seemed to get better through the film. The love story between Pumpkin and Carolyn, was so beautifully done. It was lovely to watch her fall in love with him, and he her. The only thing I was initially unsure of was Pumpkin's age, Carolyn was a senior in College so I'm guessing she was 21. Pumpkin was in fact 18 yet was treated like a child by his alcoholic mother. When she catches them in bed together and calls Carolyn a paedophile, that of course would not be the case, with a three year age gap. Hank Harris was amazing in the role of Pumpkin. Since watching this film last night I have been unable to get it out of my head. This film really touched me deeply. Can't wait to watch it again
