Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

I had heard about this film many times in the past, and I've seen the images of the leading actor with his costume and choice of pork pie and top hats, so I had to see if I was going to like it. Basically Benjamin "Benny" Pearl (Aidan Quinn) and his mentally ill sister Juniper "Joon" Pearl (Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe's Mary Stuart Masterson) have lived together since the accidental death of their parents. Benny's friend Mike (Batman Forever's Joe Grifasi) has his cinephile cousin Sam (Golden Globe nominated Johnny Depp) staying with him, Joon joins a poker game, and loses a bet that means Sam has to live with the Pearls. Benny is outraged at first, but spending some time with Sam, and finding he cleaned the house, Benny allows him to stay as a "housekeeper", other housekeepers have been scared away by Joon's outbursts. Joon and Sam bond as he is illiterate, she helps him write a letter to his mother, they go to a local diner together where waitress Ruthie (Julianne Moore) works, Ruthie comes over for dinner, she and Benny bond when he takes her home, they set a dinner date. Alone together, Joon and Sam kiss, Benny and Ruthie have a fun date, but he ends it, wanting to get back home and look after Joon, and Sam tries to apply for a job advertised in the video store. Benny, Joon and Sam hang out in the park together, Sam attracts an appreciative crowd when he starts doing Buster Keaton style tricks with his hat and his body, Benny is amazed of his talent and stays to reflect in the park, while Joon and Sam back home make love, Sam tells Joon he loves her, she returns the sentiment. Benny persuades Sam that he could do more with his life and make a living with his talent, he arranges with buddy Randy Burch (William H. Macy) to have an audition. Joon becomes agitated with Benny, making comedy routine suggestions to Sam, and she makes Sam explain that they are romantically involved, Benny is angry and throws Sam out, and yells at Joon, telling her Dr. Garvey (Orphan's C.C.H. Pounder) thinks she would be better in a home. Benny leaves Joon, feeling guilty after he pushed away while she was hitting and screaming, Sam returns to the house, he and Joon pack suitcases and get on a bus, but Joon becomes agitated, Sam tries to calm her, but she becomes increasingly panicked, the bus stops and Joon is retrained and taken in an ambulance. Benny is told at hospital by Dr. Garvey that Joon does not want to see him, Sam also arrives, they argue in the waiting room, Sam goes to stay with Ruthie, also an apartment manager, and he gets the job working in the video store. Benny finds Sam and asks for his help to see Joon, using diversion from Sam, Benny is able to see Joon, he apologises and persuades her to consider getting her own apartment, and that Sam can come back with her. Joon is interviewed by Dr. Garvey, while Sam is swinging outside the window and waving, she says she wants to try living in her own apartment, the doctor agrees for her to make this choice. In the end, Benny and Joon reconcile, Sam and Joon are reunited, Benny and Ruthie become romantically involved, and Benny is happy to leave Joon and Sam alone together content and making grilled cheese sandwiches using an iron. Also starring Eraser's Oliver Platt as Eric, Commando's Dan Hedaya as Thomas and Liane Alexandra Curtis as Claudia. Masterson is convincing as the psychologically unstable, Quinn is likable as the concerned brother, but the show belongs to Depp, who is fantastic with his obsession for classic films, his impressions of Buster Keaton and Sir Charlie Chaplin, and his overall eccentric man-child personality. It is a fairly simple story about an odd character turning the lives of a brother and sister upside down, the adage of the film is "lunatics are saner than the rest of us", you will either lap up and enjoy this quirky, whimsical and heartfelt sleeper hit, or find it annoying, I personally really like it, it's a fun and good-natured romantic comedy drama. Good!

I hadn't seen any Jeremiah S. Chechik's job before, but this one is more than good. I gave 9,because some movie's moments were a little bit too long. First seconds of the movie told me that movie will be very interesting and good. That soundtrack was used perfectly, it fixed my mood immediately, because it's very feel-good and fun. Johnny Depp performed excellent - as always. His character was super weird, but cute and lovely too. Sam and I have something in common. I envisaged a parallel between us. We both love old movies. Person (me too) is always satisfied when he see something in common between characters and himself. Sam I liked the most not even because I like Johnny Depp, but because he's the most dramatic personality in all movie and he acts very natural. Super. Actually, I have never seen something like this movie - I mean story and plot. A masterpiece which should be know all people who love watching very good movies. I recommend.

"Benny & Joon" remains distinctive 20 years later for its handling of mental illness, choosing boldly not to preoccupy itself with a clinical approach and instead to focus on its impact on relationships. But really, it's Johnny Depp who makes it a memorable film.The least interesting of the three main characters is the protagonist in this film, Aidan Quinn's Benny. Benny is the blue collar older brother of the mentally unstable Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson), an artist prone to fits including throwing things and pyromania. Both are adults, but Joon obviously needs to be cared for as if a child. After her most recent caretaker quites, Benny finds himself forced to think about sending Joon to a living community, but plans are stalled when an unusual young man ends up in their lives.Sam (Depp) is an eccentric, a young man who models his behavior off silent film star Buster Keaton and performs various physical comedy gags both on purpose yet also intuitively. He charms Joon and after awhile even manages to impress Benny, but he slowly starts to complicate the dynamic between brother and sister.Depp's performance exhibits Keaton but also Gene Wilder ala "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." He's a joy to watch and an absolute natural when it comes to quirkiness. Although audiences had a taste of his talent in "Edward Scissorhands," it's this film where he shows just how excellent of a physical actor he is, foretelling of his eventual mainstream success.Interesting that Depp gets top billing in the credits when it's a film mostly centered on how Benny will deal with Joon. Perhaps "Christmas Vacation" director Jeremiah S. Chechik didn't realize until into filming how great of a performance he was going to get. Regardless, the script from Berry Berman and Lesley McNeil certainly didn't account for it. We spend too much time watching Benny mishandle Joon as well as his personal life despite his good heart and best intentions. A side plot he has with Julianne Moore as the waitress Ruthie completely detracts from the characters that should be getting more screen time, and it's frustrating because their conflict is handled with such immaturity on the part of both characters.With Joon's disorder not diagnosed for the audience, Masterson has little to draw upon for her performance, but she endears us to Joon with a wide-eyed approach whenever she's not throwing a tantrum. Her preoccupation with a man who also has his quirks but wears them so proudly makes a lot of sense, but we don't get to see their relationship blossom with so much of the film spent following Benny around.It's unclear whether writer Berman intended to have the other characters who aren't Joon make poor decisions about their lives in order to make a point. On one hand, such a notion would be wise and true to a certain degree, but on the other, the decisions are so rash that one has to question the authenticity of the characters."Benny & Joon" mostly sees all its conflict underdeveloped, but the story generates enough curiosity to last the length of the film (though it could really be shorter). Depp's convincing and unusual turn brings a certain life, energy and most importantly memorability to the film, a comedy angle that the film sorely needs. Its approach to conflict is not serious enough to consider it a drama, but it's not nearly romantic enough to be considered a romance. Understandably, it's remembered as a comedy.~Steven CThanks for reading! Visit moviemusereviews.com for more

The Food used in the diner sequences actually came from The Shack Restaurant, the production company could not afford the Shacks asking price (as this would interrupt the daily business and taking away $1000's of dollars from the business) for the use of the Restaurant so it opted for the Milk Bottle and Fergies, so the production people used food from the Shack and drove it to the other two diners. The other goof is the ambulance seen says Deer Park Ambulance which is about 30 miles away from downtown Spokane where the scene takes place. My husband was an extra on this film and also a stand-in for Oliver Platt and Waldo Larsen.