Plot: What’s it about?
Carolyn McDuffy (Christina Ricci) is a beautiful sorority girl who thinks everything should be perfect and to be honest, she can’t understand why ugly people and bad situations even exist in the first place. As the perkiest member of one of the top sororities, Carolyn dances, cheers, fundraises, and does whatever else she has to do to make her organization the best, but without fail, they always wind up in second place. But this year, her group has some awesome pledges, including some minorities to add diversity to their membership and of course, the sorority has chosen a killer charity to seal the deal. Much to the dismay of Carolyn and her friend Jeanine (Dominique Swain), the girls have to coach and train “special” athletes, which bothers Carolyn to no end, since they’re all weird, ugly, and above all else, imperfect. But she pushes on, even though her athlete Pumpkin (Hank Harris) is strange and causes her to panic, scream, then run off in a rush. As time passes however, she begins to feel a connection with Pumpkin, one which makes her question her perfect life and of course, that means big trouble when everyone finds out…
An offbeat movie with a dark sense of humor, Pumpkin won some critical acclaim, but didn’t score much coin at the box office. But then again, considering the tone and subject matter involved, Pumpkin was probably never expected to make much commercial impact. Now that it has hit home video however, I think this quirky picture will gain a good audience and pull back in some profits, as it should become a small cult smash. The material is bound to offend some viewers, as it handles some controversial topics and takes a searing satire to others, but for those with an open sense of humor, Pumpkin has a lot of memorable moments. I do think it comes close to crossing the line in a few scenes, but I don’t think that’s bad at all, in truth I felt refreshed to find a movie that was so bold and willing to take chances. No, not all of Pumpkin’s efforts are a total success, but none prove to be failures and in the end, it turns out to be a dark, inventive, and unique motion picture. Christina Ricci’s blazing performance fuels the film’s flames and really sets the tempo, but Pumpkin is solid all the way around, to be sure. I do wish MGM had done more with this release, but even as a bare bones disc, Pumpkin is more than worth a look.
Although I found Pumpkin’s cast to be good throughout the players, without a doubt, Christina Ricci shines and carries the movie from start to finish. She has been giving some quirky turns for a while now, but none can come close to the offbeat texture of her role here, which she is able to play without a hitch. Ricci hits all the right marks and makes sure all of the little quirks surface as intended, but never push her character too much. So she seems to be kind of out of this world, but in a believable way, which is important here. I was pleased to see how her character evolves over the course of the movie, as it is well handled and unfolds in a smooth, realistic fashion, even though some moments require more faith than others. Other films with Ricci include Sleepy Hollow, The Ice Storm, The Addams Family, Now and Then, Buffalo ’66, Pecker, and Casper. The cast also includes Hank Harris (Mercury Rising, Sign of the Times), Dominique Swain (Lolita, The Smokers), and Marisa Coughlan (Super Troopers, Gossip).
Video: How does it look?
Pumpkin is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, with a full frame edition included on the disc’s flip side. The image here looks good to me, with a clean and sharp impression throughout. The print has no serious debris or marks, while grain is absent also, lending a great foundation for the visuals. The film’s soft, pastel color scheme is handled well, with bright, pleasant hues and natural flesh tones. I saw no hiccups with contrast either, as black levels are excellent and no visible detail loss is evident. Another great new release treatment from MGM, who deserve some solid credit for giving this movie such attention.
Audio: How does it sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack found here is a nice, solid presentation, but the material simply isn’t too dynamic in scope. So while all the information comes through as well as can be expected, you won’t notice much in terms of bells & whistles, as Pumpkin’s audio is basic and straight forward in all respects. The music does open up the surrounds to an extent, but the sound effects don’t spark the speakers much, so keep your expectations realistic here. The dialogue sounds excellent however, which is the main issue in this case, since Pumpkin is a dialogue driven picture. This disc also includes subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s theatrical trailer.
