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Benny & Joon

Benny & Joon

Comedy · Drama · 1993

A mentally ill young woman finds love with an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.

Movie details

Benny & Joon

“A romance on the brink of reality.”

1993 Comedy · Drama 1h 38m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

A mentally ill young woman finds love with an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Benny & Joon?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Comedy · 1997

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jeremiah S. Chechik

Written by

Lesley McNeil · Barry Berman

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp

Sam

Mary Stuart Masterson

Mary Stuart Masterson

Juniper 'Joon' Pearl

Aidan Quinn

Aidan Quinn

Benjamin 'Benny' Pearl

Julianne Moore

Julianne Moore

Ruthie

Oliver Platt

Oliver Platt

Eric

CCH Pounder

CCH Pounder

Dr. Garvey

Dan Hedaya

Dan Hedaya

Thomas

Court is in session

Put Benny & Joon on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.