Thirty years ago, “Benny & Joon” — a romantic comedy starring Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan Quinn, Julianne Moore and featuring, in his first major leading role, a 30-year-old Johnny Depp — was playing in theaters nationwide.
The movie, which received critical praise — especially for Depp's performance — had been filmed right here in Spokane.
The-Numbers.com ranks Johnny Depp No. 12 on its list of top ticket-selling actors. He's starred in 52 movies that have generated $3.69 million domestically: an average of $70.9 million per film.
It's worth noting that half of the Top 20 list are actors who have appeared in multiple Marvel Comics films over the years. Eleven, if you count Vin Diesel, who supplies the voice of Groot in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” Marvel movies.
The film will be celebrated Saturday at the Garland Theater with a screening of the movie, a short film commemorating the filming and a live Q&A featuring some of the cast and crew.
linktr.ee/bennyandjoonspokaneDepp's bankability is the result of his appearance in the popular “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Alice in Wonderland” films.
Johnny Depp plays Sam, an eccentric and illiterate young man who comes to live with Benny and Joon, who are brothers and sisters. In fact, Joon “wins” him by losing a poker game. If that seems odd, just wait: The movie is just getting started.
Sam has a completely different way of doing everything: He idolizes silent film comedians, performs cute little tricks with his hat and cooks perfect grilled cheese sandwiches ... with a laundry iron.
Sam's odd approach to live comes in handy in dealing with Joon -
— played by Mary Stuart Masterson — who has a mental issue of some sort.
Some movie reviewers called her “schizophrenic” because, at some point, she says she hears voices. But experts have said she seems to be on the autism spectrum instead.
In fact, some viewers might find the film's treatment of Joon's illness offensive. Even so, Sam displays a knack for dealing with Joon and her particular condition and the two soon fall in love.
Aidan Quinn plays Benny, Joon's protective brother who has put his own life on hold to deal with Joon's needs.
Julianne Moore is Ruthie, a waitress in a local diner who takes it upon herself to pull Aidan out of his self-imposed shell
Oliver Platt plays Eric, Benny's friend and business partner at the auto repair shop Benny owns in Spokane.
Originally, Laura Dern was to play Joon and her boyfriend at the time, Woody Harrelson, was to play Benny. Not long before filming began, Dern dropped out and Harrelson left to star in “Indecent Proposal.” This prompted MGM Pictures to sue Harrelson for $5 million. The suit was eventually settled out of court. Masterson was brought in days before cameras began rolling.
Joon likes to paint. Much of the artwork you see in the movie was painted by Masterson herself.
In the original script, Joon burned down the house in which she and Benny lived.
Depp — who's right-handed — used his left hand while filming the scene in which he's trying to write. This helped him appear to be unable to write.
Featured in “Benny & Joon” was a 1988 song called “I'm Gonna Be 500 Miles” by a Scottish duo, the Proclaimers. Re-released as a single, the song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The movie was filmed in Spokane and featured sites like Riverfront Park, Ferguson's Café and the Maple Street Bridge. A few locals appeared in minor roles.
This edition of Further Review was adapted for the web by Zak Curley.
