Benny (Aidan Quinn) is under a lot of pressure. He runs a mechanic shop and spends all day fixing cars, but he’s also the guardian of his sister Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson) who has been diagnosed as mentally ill. Although extremely intelligent, she sometimes has outbursts that result in things getting broken, and in some cases, in trouble with the police. Benny feels that he has no time for a social life and certainly no chance of ever having a girl friend or getting married. His life is taking care of Joon.
One night he takes Joon to a poker game with him, after losing yet another housekeeper to take care of her. During a lull in the game, Joon takes a hand, only to lose – and part of the pot was to take in an absent-minded young man named Sam, cousin to one of the men in the game. Sam had been driving his host crazy, but he had no where else to go. Glad to be rid of him, the winning player sends Sam home with Benny and Joon, but they aren’t really sure what to do with him either.
Sam (Johnny Depp) looks at life in a very different way. He’s able to entertain himself with the smallest thing, nothing seems to get him down, and he makes Joon laugh. Benny’s pretty sure he’s just gained another person with mental issues and feels more overwhelmed than ever.
But while Benny’s at work the next day, Sam cleans the entire house. It’s spotless, and Benny’s pretty impressed. He decides Sam can stay and help out – Joon seems to like him too.
Meanwhile, Benny meets Ruthie (Julianne Moore) and wants to date her, but feels so constrained by his home situation, he doesn’t feel he can get involved.
Things ramp up as Sam and Joon fall in love, and enter into a physical relationship. Benny hits the ceiling when he finds out and literally throws Sam out of the house. But this precipitates a breakdown for Joon, and Benny realizes that it may be time to start treating Joon more like the adult she is.
The acting is superlative. There is a little bit of mild language in this movie, and there is a scene between Benny and Joon that, while not graphic, may be just a bit more than you would want for your younger viewers. This movie is so sweet and so powerful, however, I’d suggest watching it after the kids are in bed. I loved every minute of this thought-provoking movie and I think you would too.
This film is rated PG.
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