Rating: 
Summary: The movie that wouldn't end
Review: First off, this movies is one of those that you think is ending but then keeps going. Making the end seem clumsy and jerky. Like a small child relaying a story "oh yea and then, oh yea and then..etc". Secondly, this movie is just flat out offensive to the disabled. It hints that all a person needs to overcome their disability is the love of a pretty girl and motivation. Watching pumpkins transformation from very disabled to barely, says that mabey, just mabey disabled people are faking it. There will also be a few cringe moments at the callous way the disabled are treated- not really exploring their feelings to this treatment. If this was truly to be a movie enlightening us to the isolation and unfair treatment of the disabled, they would have explored those feelings, making them real people. There is a deep message to the film that the filmakers seemed to be trying to say, but were too chicken to really say it. The rest of the movie is surrounded by glib, two dimensional characters that do not lend to the plots substance. Not wanting the two main characters together because it will undermine a sorority competition is not real. It would have been better to have real friends, with real personalities who had real reservation- to make this a good film.
Rating: 
Summary: sublime
Review: I saw this at an independant film festival in London and it was fantastic.
This film is several films in one, all layered on top of each other.
A funny, silly, 'something about mary' slapstick? yep
A film dealing with serious issues of the way 'special people' are viewed and sidelined in society? yep
A film on a the social develpoment and angst of the teenage years? yep
A satire on the stereotypes that people form of others, the ruthless successful, the fat but gentle, the simple sports jock, the blonde bimbo, the fake concerns and shallow ambitions? yep, yep, yep and more. A satire, a farce, OTT symbolisim, laughs at itself and everyone else, serious issues, trival issues, the way the music was used, the way it was filmed,
surreal.
superb... Saw this the day after I saw Donnie darko. The compare and contrast between the films was a real experience.
Donnie darko, more intellectually thought provoking, explicitly darker and surreal, in some ways nihilistic teenager's confusion and anger at the world, Pumpkin, a more emotional teenager's exploration of society and her relationship to it and others, painted in exagerated bright pastel colours that in a more subverted way shows the hypocracy and unrealness of the world. Both had damn fine performaces and both that fantastic sound tracks. Watch both.
Rating: 
Summary: Pumpkin
Review: This movie was very refreshing. I stumbled across it at a movie store and decided to give it a chance. It's main characters are a sorority girl named Carolyn and a semi-retarded man nicknamed "Pumpkin". Carolyn's sorority pick the Challenged Games as their charity in order to win the soroity of the year. Carolyn is pumpkin's mentor and she develops a relationship. Although there are many obstacles along the way of their friendship, all turns out well. Give "Pumpkin" a chance. You might surprise yourself with how much you like it.
Rating:
Summary: Awful
Review: I have never in my life spent so much time discussing how awful a movie is...that is until this one. I was never sure if I was watching a comedy or a drama. This movie would have been really funny if it didn't take itself so seriously. The comedy billing was accurate though...this would make an excellent Mystery Science Theatre 3000 feature. Suprisingly enough, I don't miss the 2 hours of my life I spent watching it though. It was like a car accident, you shouldn't watch it, but you can't look away.
Rating:
Summary: please don't watch this...
Review: I stared in disbelief for 95% of the movie and now I have an extreme headache. What on earth could the script have looked like, and why would they portray the disabled like that, and why would Christina Ricci want to be a part of this, and why would Belle and Sebastian lend their music (and Mercury Rev and...), and why would it go ON AND ON AND ON?
This is one of those films where it's so bad you can't help but finish it. I am sincerely glad I didn't see it in the theater, and the friend who recommended it, well, hmmm....
stay away.
Rating:
Summary: Should you watch this film?.. An emphatic, YES, YES, YES!!!
Review: If you watch all the way to the "cripple" vs perfect jock fight(I'll add the music used for that scene was genius). And then end up watching the car going off the cliff scene afterwhich the car explodes in mid air for no apparent reason and witness how the driver receives not even a scratch then your gut may no longer be in tact from all of the tremendous laughing you've already done. Yes like Carl Lewis in all ways this movie goes beyond any expectations I ever had for an underrated film. I loved it. I bet "EVEN ANN CHUNG" liked the final cut. It wins the impeccable award not only for it's dark humor but as well for it's projection of the A.O.Pi sorority group. I have an ex girlie friend who is in that sorority and I find it quite humorous to watch this and remark to myself why couldn't my ex have looked like Christina Ricci or Dominique Swain(yes that chick from lolita) or even... Ann Chung. Well you have to see this movie. It's great. You'll want to bow down on one knee afterwards to pay it homage.
Rating:
Summary: The Dumbing Down of America
Review: This movie is an example of America lowering its standard and dumbing itself down. How did this even make it to film? Terrible acting. Do college women/girls really act this childish? This film comes very close to insulting the Special Olympics and its athletes. It also depicts one "challenged" kid beating up another one. Which I guess is supposed to be funny?? Is it a comedy? A tear jerker? A sophisticated study of morals? This film trys to be all of them but FAILS on all accounts big time. Rent I Am Sam or What's Eating Gilbert Grape instead.
Rating:
Summary: Douglas Sirk meets John Waters
Review: This film is so subversive, I love it! We've finally reached the point in our society where the love that dare not speak its name is that between a hot babe and a [ ]!
The reason why I mention these two Directors in my title is because this film is lush with color and beautiful music, I specially liked the Belle & Sebastion tune, and is quite purposely melodramatic to an absurd degree(remember the car crash sequence that Roger Ebert hated so much?).
If you watch carefully Pumpkin and Caroline actually spend very little time together. Caroline is obviously projecting onto Pumpkin her desires because he is a blank slate to her. The revealing scene is at the end of the film when she asks him if he was speaking literally or metaphorically about something and he answers "what?".
Cliche's abound in this film, the overprotective mother, the jock who becomes a better man after losing the use of his legs, the "blond" sorority, the fight at the dance(is that music from Rebel Without A Cause?). The symbolism is so in your face, the rats, the rotting fruit covered with flies, the dead bird. Christina Ricci was very wise to get this future cult film under her belt before moving on to adult fare.
The only reason I can't give this film 5 stars is because ultimately it has no message. Love conquers all is a childish concept and I can't believe that women will be flocking to the special olympics looking for dates after seeing this film. Just enjoy the film for what it is; a tasty piece of ear and eye candy.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie
Review: This movie was a good look at the prejudices that remain in today's society. The rich vs. the poor, the accepted vs. the unaccepted, and the challenged vs. the unchallenged. At first scorned for not being more willing to work with a challenged athlete, Caroline McDuffy (Christina Ricci) is ostracized for falling in love with him.
The movie may seem overacted but I think this is a tool used to create a farce-like atmosphere. I would recommend this movie to people who like artsy movies.
Rating:
Summary: A Mirror for Society
Review: I started casually watching this movie while cooking last night & before too long, I was engrossed by it (I had never heard of this movie previously). This movie is about unconditional love, how blind it is to all & everything, but the soul; It is about removing the mask of society and seeing it for what it really is and not what we like to think it is; And it is also about the prejudices (that we like to pretend no longer exist) in our society, specifically those regarding the physically/mentally disabled. My husband watched this movie with me. He thought people's reactions to the disabled were a little far-fetched until I told him otherwise. Sadly, I found the movie's depiction of our society's reactions/feelings regarding the the disabled pretty accurate. My parents have cared for several "special" children since I was 2 & through the course of my life, I have seen these same reactions from people (and worse) when they met/saw my foster-brother(s)/sister (laughing, name-calling, hateful & ignorant remarks, even to the person's face). This movie also shows the sad fact that society not only ostersizes "the challenged," but also those that associate with them. After I explained all this to my husband, he found the movie to be more enlightening about the silent pain the disabled (and their associates) are burdened with by society, and how many people will profess they are "not prejudiced," but yet their actions/attitudes show them to be nothing more than hypocrits. This movie also warns viewers that at any given moment, any "normal functioning" individual can become physically &/or mentally disabled. I found the movie to be very enlightening. It was very refreshing to see a movie address issues pertaining to the ugly side of our society. I don't foresee "Pumpkin" being very popular though for the simple reason that most of people do not like to see the truth. The truth that most of us DO HAVE prejudiced attitudes about people different from ourselves; how UGLY those attitudes/actions really make us; and yet, despite all of this, we still refuse to change those aspects of ourselves. If you are looking to increase your own social awareness or want to further your understanding/sensitivity to social issues, OR are just looking for a love story that shows to what lengths true love will go, this is definetly a movie worth watching.
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