Pumpkin (2002)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Directors:

Anthony Abrams
Adam Larson Broder

Writer (WGA):

Adam Larson Broder (written by)

Release Date:

12 March 2004 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

A comedy for the romantically challenged.

Plot:

A sorority girl is drawn to a disabled man.

Plot Keywords:

Pumpkin | Sorority | Love | Charity | Athlete

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Christina Ricci	...	Carolyn McDuffy
Hank Harris	...	Pumpkin Romanoff
Brenda Blethyn	...	Judy Romanoff
Dominique Swain	...	Jeanine Kryszinsky
Marisa Coughlan	...	Julie Thurber
Samuel Ball	...	Kent Woodlands (as Sam Ball)
Harry Lennix	...	Robert Meary (Poetry teacher)
Nina Foch	...	Betsy Collander
Caroline Aaron	...	Claudia Prinsinger
Lisa Banes	...	Chippy McDuffy
Julio Oscar Mechoso	...	Dr. Frederico Cruz
Phil Reeves	...	Burt Wohlfert
Marisa Petroro	...	Courtney Burke (as Marisa Parker)
Tait Smith	...	Hansie Prinsinger
Michael Bacall	...	Casey Whitner

MPAA:

Rated R for language and a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Canada:14A | USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Azusa, California, USA

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

The shot of Kent's car flying off the cliff and exploding is actually taken from Hudson Hawk (1991) - you can even see the dummy, that represented the bad guy, on the hood.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Kent Woodlands is playing in his tennis match against Arizona State, his score is announced first when he is receiving serve (ex. 15-Love). The server's score is always announced first in tennis, thus it should be announced Love-15, etc.

Quotes:

Carolyn McDuffy: I'm feeling pain, Pumpkin, for the first time in my life. And now I know how it feels. It feels like everything inside me is shattered, like a broken mirror.

Movie Connections:

References The Stepford Wives (1975)

Soundtrack:

The Stars of Track and Field

Somewhere between a 1 and a 10.

"Pumpkin" slips mercurially through the genres ending up somewhere around black comedy with farcical overtones and biting undercurrents as it tells of a privileged, superficial sorority sister (Ricci) who "gets real" and falls for a mentally challenged man (Harris) while coaching him for a Special Olympics type event. The film boldly treads on thin ice, clumsily at times, as it tramples social constructs from decorum to morality while managing to maintain a marginally interesting storyline. Probably a real achievement given the experience of the auteur, "Pumpkin" will likely end up a love it or hate it flick of modest significance. Worth a look as a curiosity if nothing more. (B)