Pumpkin

Time for another amazing movie review.

After I netflix'd Prozac Nation, next on my list was another Christina Ricci movie called Pumpkin.

At first this movie seemed to be very sappy. It starts with Carolyn (Ricci) starting her senior year of college. She is in a very preppy sorority, competing with a rival sorority for Sorority of the Year. She has a perfect tennis star boyfriend, and everything seems to be going fantastically for her. As a charity project, her sorority is working with Challenged athletes for their upcoming Challenge Games. Long story short, she falls in love with a mentally challenged young man named Pumpkin, and it completely throws her life out of whack. She leaves her so-called-perfect life after she realized that perfect isn't always perfect.


Now this movie touched me in several different ways. The primary one being watching the internal struggle she faces as she initially resists the feelings she is forming for Pumpkin. You see her actions progress from contempt to curiosity to affection. Her friends and family's reaction to this development is very realistic. It's a natural progression, it doesn't seem rushed or forced.

Another reason this movie appealed to me was that it is a non-traditional love story. As much of a sap as I am, it's nice to deviate from the standard "girl meets boy, girl falls in love with boy, they have some sort of hardship, girl wins boy" that most love stories follow. Here she already IS in love, and has to deal with that added aspect in her search for the answers. She tries to hang on to her "normal" boyfriend in order to hide from her growing feelings for Pumpkin, and she seemingly flip-flops between the two of them multiple times.


Overall, this movie is one to watch if you tend to prefer romantic movies [read: like sappy movies like me].

The only really well known name in this movie is Ricci.


Up and coming reviews : The Virgin Suicides, Four Brothers, Adam and Steve, Adaption, Rounders