Too much of everything

Just perfect...

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

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.

The setup: Perky, perfect Carolyn and her Alpha Omega Pi sisters plan to win Sorority of the Year by impressing the Greek Council with a killer charity: coaching mentally challenged athletes for the regional Challenged Games. When Carolyn's assigned to coach Pumpkin she's terrified at first, but soon sees in him something she's never seen before: a gentle humanity and honest clarity that touches her soul. To the horror of her friends and Pumpkin's overprotective mother, Carolyn falls in love, becoming an outcast in the process. As Carolyn's "perfect life" falls apart, Pumpkin teaches her that perfect isn't always perfect after all.The verdict: Awesome!

Roger Ebert, in the Chicago Sun-Times, gives the movie a very good grade (three-and-a-half stars) and concludes his review by remarking: "Pumpkin is alive, and takes chances, and uses the wicked blade of satire in order to show up the complacent political correctness of other movies in its campus genre. It refuses to play it safe...Mr. Ebert adds: "...there is courage in the performances."I couldn't say it better--and, if Mr. Ebert likes this movie, it's definitely got to be very good.The movie tells the story of how people fall in love for all of the right reasons, or for all of the wrong reasons. It's a matter of making responsible choices, by clearly focusing on love, rather than all of the reasons that detract from it. That is not to say that there won't be ethical dilemmas, in making responsible choices, but an earnest effort to resolve such dilemmas--including economics in the decision- making process--will maximize one's satisfaction. And--including probability in the decision-making process--there will be a good-to- excellent probability for high-quality satisfaction.Because of this, and the courage in the movie's message, I rank the film a 10 out of 10. I added 2 points for doing the right thing, not because of morality, but because of responsible decision-making. There's something positive to be said about muscle, but self-determination adds even more muscle to this movie, and to life's middle-and-end result. This film, more than worthy, is highly recommended.

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."