Pumpkin (2002)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Dolby Digital Trailer-Rain Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	2002
Running Time	112:45
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (54:27)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Anthony Abrams Adam Larson Broder
Studio Distributor	Capitol Films Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Christina Ricci Hank Harris Brenda Blethyn Dominique Swain Marisa Coughlan Samuel Ball Harry J. Lennix Nina Foch Caroline Aaron Lisa Banes Julio Oscar Mechoso Phil Reeves Marisa Petroro
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$39.95	Music	John Ottman

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	Yes
		Action In or After Credits	No

     If you've seen this film before and have been waiting impatiently for its release, my comments are of no value to you. Please proceed directly to the technical aspects of the review.

      Pumpkin is a turkey.

     The film that is, not necessarily the title character, who's pretty much the only individual within it who doesn't entirely cover himself with ignominy.

      But I rush ahead of myself. Here is the story. Carolyn McDuffy (Christina Ricci) is a Reece Witherspoon act-alike in this sorority satire. She is privileged, blonde, perky and oh-so-popular with her sisters of Alpha Omega Pi. In their quest to win Sorority of the Year, the diminutive band of feral females decide to play the bleeding heart ticket by offering coaching services to Riverside's Challenged Athletes. Despite her protests that this is somehow distasteful, our little hero, Carolyn acquiesces to the all-powerful insistence of sorority queen, Julie Thurber (Marisa Coughlan) and thus she tentatively meets Pumpkin Romanoff (Hank Harris). As she slowly overcomes her aversion, Pumpkin begins to inveigle his way into her thoughts and her life, in spite of the horror of all concerned.

      Her first attempts to introduce him into her life are disastrous. She attempts to create a double beach date with herself, her chinny bok all-star boyfriend, Kent Woodlands (Sam Ball), the infatuated Pumpkin, and her amply proportioned girlfriend, Cici (Melissa McCarthy). Cici takes very deep personal exception to being considered a suitable date for Pumpkin, a view heartily supported by Kent, who insists that Carolyn has no sensitivity whatsoever to the situation. Err, he's got a point - Carolyn takes Cici home, then Kent, then runs a few errands before realising she's left poor Pumpkin on the beach. When she finally realises her error, she thoughtlessly delivers him to his front garden, leaving him to struggle with his wheelchair himself. Needless to say, Pumpkin's mother, Judy (Brenda Blethyn) is beginning to have very grave doubts indeed about Carolyn's influence on her "special" son.

      For Carolyn, life is going from bad to worse. She can't get Pumpkin out her head, which is definitely having a positive influence on the quality of her poetry, but also necessitates a visit to the ineffectual college psychologist. For the first time in her life, she is encountering pain and she's not enjoying the experience very much. Kent insists that everything is her fault, a cry that becomes echoed by Julie and the killer queens of the sorority. In spite of universal opposition, Carolyn and Pumpkin continue to build a relationship that culminates in the silliest Sorority Ball ever filmed. Without providing any spoilers, Kent and Pumpkin square off for the final countdown, and the auspicious night changes everyone's life forever.

      What's so bad about this movie? Well, for starters, it just doesn't work. It appears to struggle at times with its own focus, resulting in a melange of ill-formed ideas and half-baked humour. The script is laced to the gills with clichés and old standards, but lacks the subtlety to present this as ironic. Lacking in that elevated cleverness, the story just feels as dumb as the characters that blockily stomp across it. Ricci, who is normally superlative, just looks like someone's trod on her toes throughout the entire film. The viewer "gets" the joke, and it's a pretty singular joke, early in the film, and from there it's a very long ride to the final credits. Yes, we know it's a parody, but unfortunately, it actually becomes a parody of itself.

      It was a full house when this film was shown at my place. Present was my stepdaughter aged 27 (the one who loved Baby..Secret of the Lost Legend), my daughter aged 17, my niece aged 16, my husband aged 57 and myself, 41 (there's all the family secrets out in the open.) Judging by the collective response we had to the film, it's hard to know exactly to whom it's pitched. Because one never finds oneself particularly engaged in the story, it leaves plenty of time to pick at all the plot holes and plausibility chasms.

Video

     The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, 16x9 enhanced which is true to its original format.

     The disc is overall rather soft, although detail itself is still not too bad. There is no low level noise and the grain levels are fine.

     Colour rendition is actually quite good, with a wide spectrum displayed and accurate, pleasing skin tones.

     Aliasing is quite significant throughout - I've never seen a beach shimmer like it does at 33:05. There is also telecine wobble through the opening credits which never really augers well for a presentation. There are film to video artefacts present throughout and pan shots jitter throughout the movie.

     Subtitles are fine; clear, a little abbreviated, but mostly timely.

     The layer change placed in Chapter 16, at 54:27, is quite apparent.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     There is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack only on this disc.

     The dialogue was easy to understand most of the time, but there was a vague hiss apparent at times which was most distracting. Audio sync however, was fine.

     Presumably the musical score by John Ottman was likewise supposed to be ironic and amusing. To me, it just came across as either pedestrian or misjudged. Looking at his background, it seems he's scored for quite a number of schlokky typed pseudo horror genre films. It shows.

     The surround channels were adequately used, but by no means intensely and even the subwoofer was mostly quite subdued.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

     The menu design is static and silent with a photograph from the feature.

Theatrical Trailer (2:00)

     This actually makes the film look interesting - the cunning fiends!

      The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on:

• Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1
• Spanish and French Subtitles
• Additional Full-screen format option

     The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on:

• Nothing

     Both versions are equally good, and there is no compelling reason to prefer one over the other so proximity will probably make your choice.

      Pumpkin's sweet moments are so sugary that they make your teeth shudder and its ironic moments are as subtle as an episode of The Osbournes. It is long on film and short on ideas. As vacuous and vapid as the sorority queens themselves, a leaden script, overstylised acting style, and tedious approach make this a very ordinary film. A shame really - the premise was quite interesting.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall