Pumpkin

Legally Blonde meets an After School Special in Pumpkin, an audaciously campy film of unlikely love, coming to an art-house near you. Carolyn McDuffy (played…

by j. brotherlove

Legally Blonde meets an After School Special in Pumpkin, an audaciously campy film of unlikely love, coming to an art-house near you.

Carolyn McDuffy (played wonderfully by Christina Ricci) is a senior at Southern California State University and lives a “perfect” life. The most popular girl in her sorority, Carolyn’s senior year is poised to be a blast - until her sorority attempts to out-charity the Tri-Omegas, their rival sorority, by tutoring male athletes for the “Challenged Games”.

Carolyn opposes, originally. But after she meets her athlete, Pumpkin (Hank Harris), she is slowly drawn to his inner beauty and his attachment to her. Pumpkin, mostly relegated to a wheelchair, instantly falls in love and this new emotion gives him initiative to live a fuller existence including walking, running - even dancing. Meanwhile, everyone from Carolyn’s sorority and boyfriend to Pumpkin’s mother (Brenda Blethyn in a wasted role) experience varying levels of disgust and outrage.

Fans of Ricci (a producer of the film) and twisted black comedies will have plenty to laugh about. Those who do not - beware. Questioning our own values and sensitives regarding the mentally and physically disabled is undoubtedly intentional. But, most messages heralding inner beauty, diversity and truth are heavily sedated with parody. There are plenty of moments in the film where the viewer is subconsciously asked “Is it okay to laugh at this?”

At times, the over-the-top hysteria (replete with dead-on campy music) goes too far and feels like a ruse to showing a straight-on narrative about the unlikely romance between the two characters. As if an obvious allowance to laugh is the only way to draw an audience for a film about a “clueless” preppy college sorority girl and a disabled male athlete. Hmmm… Directors Adam Larson Broder and Tony R. Abrams may be right.

I’m a believer that good comedy isn’t really great comedy unless its offensive to somebody.

I look forward to catching this one…plus, I’m shocked that that’s miss ricci…where’d her body go?

Jason, you obviously didn’t watch the last season of Ally McBeal (and I don’t blame you). After years of self-image issues, Christina is babelicious, now (hopefully, happily so) - but, not without backlash. Some fans have said she’s sold out with her new look.

From Interview magazine:
Christina recalled, “I was really fat for a year. I was ugly. People would come up to me in the street and say, ‘Weren’t you Wednesday in “The Addams Family”? God, you’ve gotten so fat.’ I felt [like] I was a separate person from the person they were talking about, and I’d want to take them aside and scold them [and say,] ‘You can’t talk to me like that.’ Being overweight made it so hard for me to get films. I didn’t work for a year because of it, and it was devastating.”

She’s fly no matter the size…

but that’s just me, I like them half-crazy chicks.

“self-image issues”

*sigh*

So that’s what they’re calling it these days. How convenient that it assumes so much!

Well, Ms. Ricci is a fierce actress, but THAT whole world …