Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

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.

rooprect Satires are not always comedies, just like comedies are not always satires. Examples: "Robocop", "District 9", "Starship Troopers", "Stepford Wives" ...these are all brilliant satires; yet they are not comedies.I think it's misleading for Pumpkin to be advertised as a comedy. Sure, it's packed full of subtle humour, but like the films I mentioned above, its intent is probably not to make us laugh out loud. Its intent is to give us an offbeat look at society without taking itself too seriously. So if you go into this film expecting something "HYSTERICALLY FUNNY" (says the Washington Post), you might be disappointed.Another caveat: this film is not about disabled people--not like, say, "Shine" or "My Left Foot". True, the plot is about a sorority girl who gets into an "inappropriate" relationship with a mentally challenged boy, but that's just a metaphor for what the film is really hitting us with. The film simply uses this metaphor to illustrate the screwed-up norms of human society. Pay attention early on to the speech Christina Ricci gives about how sororities & fraternities end up dividing us, labeling us and creating differences where none really exist. I believe that encapsulates what this film is trying to tell us about our world, and you'll realize it's a lot more than just a romantic comedy.In order to fully appreciate this film, you CANNOT take anything at face value. Everything ...even the wooden acting or the melodramatic pill scene or the exploding car (lol)... is designed to be over-the-top, showing us a bizarre world and giving a little wink to the audience. Almost every scene will have you wondering if the filmmakers were being ironic, and that's the beauty of unravelling a film such as this. It's very subtle but well executed, almost like Hitchcock's brand of humour in Strangers on a Train which, similarly, pokes fun at the veneer of polite society hiding the screwed-uppedness beneath (in fact, "Pumpkin" has a tennis scene that's reminiscent of the tennis scene in the "Strangers").I'm not sure if everyone will like Pumpkin but I sure did. If you're a fan of the 4 satires I mentioned in my 1st paragraph, I think you'll like it. If so, I highly recommend the Mexican film "Casi Divas" (2008) about a cut-throat talent competition, and the Spanish movie "El Crimen Ferpecto" (2004) about a man trapped in a department store overnight. Along with "Pumpkin", these are light-hearted gems that make us think hard about the human condition. Oh don't forget "Heathers" (1988) which fits right in with the bunch, though a bit on the darker side.

Kate34 This is one of those films that I can watch a thousand times and never tire of. Yes, the story is crazy, the characters ridiculous, but in the world of this film, everything is perfect. Caroline McDuffy has the perfect life. She's from a rich family, in college in a top sorority, dating the school hunk, and has a perfect blonde flip. Her biggest concern is winning sorority of the year. Well, until she meets Pumpkin, and her life is turned up-side down. It's a beautiful story of how falling in love with someone you never expected could turn your whole life around. There are also some classic lines from this film... "How retarded are we talking here?" "Retarded, retarded."

piXelpiXelpiXel This thing should be an embarrassment to all involved. It is almost as if it was intentionally horrible.It is difficult to list each and every way this was an utter waste of time, even as it was on in the background on a cable channel that is paid for no matter what it shows.If you are considering actually spending money or time on this, do yourself a favor, take a few hours throwing pennies, slowly, one-by-one, into a wishing well, hoping it is never aired again under any circumstances, other than in Gitmo.Unless you are the world's greatest drooling Ricci fan, make time to avoid this.