Benny & Joon

Benny Pearl runs an auto repair shop and looks after his sister Joon, who has struggled with mental illness since their parents died. Her behavior is unpredictable, and she needs someone watching over her, which leaves Benny with little life of his own. That changes when a poker game brings Sam into their household: an eccentric young man with a gift for silent-comedy pantomime, who models himself on Buster Keaton. Sam and Joon are drawn to each other immediately, and as their romance develops, Benny grows uneasy about whether his sister is safe with him.

The film was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, following his 1989 comedy National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and released as his second feature. Barry Berman and Lesley McNeil wrote the screenplay, and Susan Arnold and Donna Roth produced it for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Johnny Depp plays Sam, Mary Stuart Masterson plays Joon and Aidan Quinn plays Benny, with Julianne Moore as Ruthie, Oliver Platt as Eric and CCH Pounder as Dr. Garvey.

Released in April 1993, the film runs 98 minutes and mixes comedy with drama. It took in about 23 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.1 out of 10 from roughly 65,000 votes, and on TMDB 7 out of 10 from a much smaller electorate. A critics' rating of 6.3 out of 10 from 40 reviews sits below the audience scores, which suggests viewers have warmed to it more than reviewers did.