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 | Athlete | Love | Sorority Girl

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

Also Known As:

Meu Namorado Pumpkin (Brazil) (festival title) [pt]

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:

Continuity: When Carolyn is taking thing out of her medicine cabinet, she clears the bottom shelf, save for the NyQuil bottle on the left. When the bottom shelf gets a close up seconds later, the NyQuil bottle is there with a few other bottles.

Quotes:

Carolyn McDuffy: I've caused everyone a great deal of grief. You were all right. What I did with Pumpkin was against nature. And now everyone is suffering because of it. I ruined rush. I ruined our charity. I ruined the formal. Kent is probably injured beyond repair. And now, AO Pi is runner-up again. I'm sorry. I'm leaving the sorority. I'm quitting SCSU. I'm transferring to a community college.
Julie Thurber: But Carolyn, you're a senior. You can't transfer to a community college. You have too many units.
Carolyn McDuffy: Then I'm transferring to Long Beach Tech.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References The Stepford Wives (1975)

Soundtrack:

Sorority Song

Amusingly schizophrenic

Surprisingly sweet dark comedy is really too sentimental at heart to be the edgy piece it was promoted as, and the curious final results show definite signs of indecisive filmmakers (two directors!) at the helm. A sorority princess living in a privileged bubble has her existence turned upside-down after forging a loving relationship with a mentally challenged young man, losing her friends in the process. The direction is erratic, and the tone of the film changes from scene to scene, yet it is certainly unpredictable and the cast is game. I don't know if the focus of the movie was changed midway, but the later sequences have a sweet nuance to them, as if a big softie suddenly took over to see this thing through to a happy ending. And then there's that final shot which, in keeping with the rest of the picture, is amusingly bizarre. **1/2 from ****