Benny & Joon

First of all, this movie is most likely not a believable portrayal of mental illness. Hopefully, it's not meant to be. Don't take it too seriously, and you'll probably be amused. Look into it too hard, and you'll be offended by the easy dismissal of Joon's problems (schizophrenia?) For a more somber portrayal of the same topic, watch the australian biopic of pianist David Helfgott, "Shine," or to a lesser degree, see Simon Rumley's "The Living and the Dead." Anyway. Back to the point.

Get rid of Johnny Depp, and you've got a well-acted, bland, fairly impausible tale of siblings and mental illness. Add Johnny Depp, and you've got a quirky, highly entertaining... comedy? Drama? Romance? Like Amy Adams in "Junebug," he makes the movie. Don't get me wrong, Depp's character, Sam, doesn't have near the depth that Adams' did, but he's very funny, awfully strange, and likable.

The plot- Benny (Quinn,) a mechanic, has spent his whole life caring for his mentally ill younger sister Joon (Masterson.) He's encouraged by a co-worker to 'go out and enjoy life,' but wants to leave Joon alone as little as possible. A psychiatrist pressures Benny to put her in a group home, but Benny is set on keeping his sister with him. Joon doesn't want to go to a home either, as she's fond of her brother and doesn't enjoy the company of her 'peers.' However, she's a trial to care for, because she has fits, hears voices, and every now and again sets something on fire.

One day Benny's playing some poker with his friends, betting small objects, when Joon joins in. While Benny leaves for a bit, Joon loses a bet and the two of them are forced to take in the winner's cousin. Obviously, Benny's not pleased, and Joon plays the 'poor exploited girl' in order to take back her loss. However, Benny finally agrees and Sam (Depp) joins the household.

With Joon, Benny probably thought he had enough weirdness for a lifetime, but with the arrival of Sam he gets even more than he bargained for. Sam is mentally stable, though- sort of. Besides, wearing a top hat and carrying a cane wherever he goes, he prepares grilled cheese with an iron, knows a grade-B horror movie's quotes by heart, and does tricks with his hat, forks, bread, etc., etc.

Of course Joon likes him. Almost everyone seems to like him (except his cousin,) though they treat him with quizzical disbelief. Sam tries to get a job at a video store, but leaves when he's unable to fill out a sheet. It seems that he has a learning disability, since his childlike attempts at writing seem odd with his obvious intelligence.

Time passes, and Joon and Sam fall in love. After consummating their relationship, they feel the need to tell Benny. Bad idea. Benny, who feels his sister's been taken advantage of, throws Sam out of the house (literally, not figuratively) and screams in Joon's face telling her she's crazy, as well as revealing the doctor's professional opinion to put her away. Under the obvious stress, Joon has a mental breakdown and is sent to a mental hospital. Together, Sam and Benny come up with a highly outrageous plan to break her free.

Joon's issues veer between serious (Schizophrenic breakdowns) and wacky (making a peanut butter and cereal smoothie or walking through the streets with a scuba mask.) Could Joon actually live on her own without freaking out and becoming delusional? Probably not. Obviously, buckets of belief must be suspended to enjoy the movie. However, the acting is very good and Sam's seriously weird impressions are nothing short of hilarious. (Rated PG)

The School of Rock

Dewey Finn (Jack Black)'s prospects are quickly sinking. His meek former bandmember/ roommate, Ned Schneebly (Mike White) is hesitant to make him pay his long-due rent, but Ned's more controlling girlfriend (Sarah Silverman) is understandably eager to have him out of the picture. He's just been kicked out by his rock-n-roll band, so now he jobless and on the verge of being forced to leave his residence. What's a narcissistic, immature, quasi-talented musician to do?

Well, Dewey's first strategy is to sleep, waking occasionally to halfheartedly attempt to recruit new bandmembers and throw insults in Ned's girlfriend's direction. Suddenly, however, he has an idea. Ned wants to become a substitute on his way to be a full-fledged educator, and may get a call if the main teacher falls ill. When that call comes, Dewey says he's Ned Schneebly and fails to mention the message to the real Ned.

The first day, "Ned" comes to school with a hangover and allows the class to do what they want while he catches up on some sleep. Unfortunately, he has the luck to get Summer, a precocious teacher's pet who is the only one in the class who has an eager desire to learn. Finally, he grabs a collection of instruments from his van and decides to teach the youngsters some rock, partially because it's the only thing he's good at and to staunch the kids' boredom.

Apparently the rocking and rolling sounds aren't loud enough to make the uptight principal (Joan Cusack) become sure that something other than math and reading are going on in the classroom, but she is clever enough to make several tries to check on them. Luckily Dewey and the kids manage to hide the instruments and fake other studies (except the guitar incident.) However, the real Ned Scheebly is bound to figure out his buddy's up to something, and Dewey's foil may be detected before he gets to his goal, entering the kids in the battle of the bands competition in a desperate effort to become financially secure.

I guess that maybe many people won't see this because they dislike Jack Black, or have not gotten over some of his stupider roles in the past. Luckily, I rented the movie with a kinder predisposition, because a friend had enjoyed it and I had read some good reviews (plus I really didn't have an opinion on Jack Black.) To my pleasure, I found that I was massively entertained. Sure, it's predictable, implausible, and scattered with bits where Dewey chews up the scenery. But it was funny. It had clever dialogue, entertaining characters, and I personally found it more enjoyable than a slightly similar, older unorthodox-teacher movie, "Kindergarten Cop."

For one thing, it genuinely manages to be halfway family-friendly and please different audiences. Aside from some language, drinking, and a potentially disturbing double-entendre, it can probably be considered in ways cleaner than many Dreamworks productions. Don't get me wrong, I'm no war-mongering 'keep the children innocent' idealist, but I'm sure, that for some families, little sexual content and no violence will be a relief.

Also, the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. Sure, Dewey's going to become nicer, more responsible, and feel bad for using the kids, but it never gets really sappy. One of the students has a tough relationship with his dad, but "The School of Rock" never tries to dabble in more serious issues such as child abuse. Kids get bullied, the principal is depressed, but this movie tries to keep tongue firmly in cheek.

The problem with reviewing is that you don't know how to rate a film. For instance some of the movies I've seen, such "The Living and the Dead," are flawed but fearlessly original productions that play with genres and challenge the brain. Original they may be, but that doesn't mean they're much fun going down. Than we have "The School of Rock." Cliched, mainstream- but it's purpose is to entertain, ultimately, it's a fun, funny crowd-pleaser. Originality is great, but sometimes you need something that's enjoyable to watch. If your idea of a good movie is one that keeps you laughing throughout, is placed somewhere outside reality, and begins and ends with a rock-n-roll number, I highly recommend this (Rated PG-13.)

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Junebug

Madeline (Embeth Davidtz) is an eccentric art dealer specializing in Outsider works who's just gotten married to her former boyfriend, George. He takes her to meet his dysfunctional Southern family, and to accompany his sister-in-law when she has her baby. Uh-oh. Judging from the plotlines of multiple comedies, one can guess that the situation has a good chance of getting messy.

But this isn't a comedy, really. It's a recent addition in the 'family problems' sect of the independent indrustry. Don't give up hope, though- this is a better addition to the 'dysfunctional' sub-genre than some. Watch it instead (or as well as) "The Savages," for example, or "Smart People." First of all, we have Amy Adams, playing an immensely likable character, who gives "Junebug" a hoist.

Actually, Madeline also needs to visit the area to talk with one of her latest charges, a dim-witted fellow who like to paint well-endowed people doing battle (don't ask) so she can help him sell his 'art.' Off they go, although, George is probably nervous due to a feud between he and his younger brother, Johnny. Why is there a feud? It's not clear. A lot of things go unsaid in this film.

There are four people- actually, five- living under the same roof. The matriarch is Peg (Celia Weston,) an unpleasant woman who immediately to takes a disliking to Madeline. Her husband is Eugene (Scott Wilson,) a man who makes 'people of few words' look like incredible chatterboxes. Peg and Eugene have one son, Johnny (Ben McKenzie,) a surly, bad-tempered young man with a grudge against George. Lastly is Johnny's wife Ashley (Amy Adams,) the only openly welcoming member of the family, who's expecting.

"Junebug" is hardly an action-packed movie. What proceeds is the interactions between George's family and the couple. Ashley, who's apparently starved for a social life with her withdrawn in-laws, practically falls over herself trying to make Madeline feel at home. Peg complains, Eugene quietly looks for his lost screwdriver, and Johnny keeps a distance from George and Madeline. As the story goes on, a situation arises when George feels torn between his family's needs and his wife's.

The slow pace gives "Junebug" a real, quiet feel. Something that sets it apart from many other movies of this type, however, are the surprisingly likable characters. With the exception of a few, most of the main protagonists are generally decent. It is like "Little Miss Sunshine" in that respect. Although spending an afternoon with many of them is the last thing on your mind, they are not of a love-to-hate, akin to "The Squid and the Whale," group.

As before, mentioned Amy Adams all but steals the show as Ashley. She is off-beat without being full of forced quirkiness, and her relentless sense of optimism is nearly irritating at times, but you can't help but like her. Most of the character's are semi-interesting, but Ashley is really the main character, the living, breathing person among the mix.

What did I feel after watching "Junebug?" The directer wasn't especially original with the plot-line, but one can sense the talent behind the execution. It won't be added to my favorites list any time soon, but it was what it was, and absolutely watchable (Rated R.)

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