Benny & Joon (1993) on Netflix
PG19931h 38mComedyDramaRomance
Benny Pearl runs a garage in Spokane and cares for his sister Joon, who needs constant supervision. A poker bet leaves him responsible for Sam, an eccentric with silent-film comedy routines.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb7.1/1065,846 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes76%
Trailer
Plot summary
Juniper Pearl, known as Joon, is an artist in Spokane who shares a house with her brother Benny. She is mentally ill and needs supervision at all hours, and the caregivers Benny keeps hiring do not stay. Benny runs a garage, and since their parents died twelve years ago he has been her only living relative, with little room for a life of his own. He has started to consider a group home for her but has not told her. At his poker game Joon loses a bet to Mike, and Benny takes on Mike's cousin Sam, an eccentric who performs silent-film comedy routines. Sam moves in and takes over the housekeeping and Joon's care.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Benny & Joon (1993)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Woody Harrelson was originally cast as Benny and Laura Dern was considered for Joon; Dern passed on it, and Harrelson quit to take a role in Indecent Proposal, so Aidan Quinn was brought in at the last minute to replace him.
- Winona Ryder, then dating Johnny Depp, was slated to play Joon once Laura Dern quit, but after she and Depp broke up the part was given to Mary Stuart Masterson just days before production started.
- The Proclaimers' song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" became a hit in the United States because of the film, which popularized it there.
