here, quick review: the trailer was better than the movie, the story ran a little too long, and it had a nice soundtrack.

pumpkin is about insensitive sorority girl carolyn mcduffy (christina ricci) who is forced to be buddy with special (mentally and physically challenged) boy pumpkin romanoff (hank harris) as part of a sorority charity and ends up falling in love with him after discovering something about herself and her life.

the tone of the movie was inconsistent. i wasn't sure whether they were making fun of handicapped people or were they glorifying handicapped people. some parts of the movie were inappropriately funny, while others were touchingly poignant. the movie spoofs the collegiate greek system, using it as a platform to deliver its messages, which can be one of many things, like special people are people too, or that love transcends all barriers (oh, that old message again). the trailer definitely led me to believe that this would be a more irreverant comedy bordering on tasteless, but the energy of the film was somewhat subdued. there are moments where you groan, but there are also just as many near-serious moments (e.g. how pumpkin's mother, despite the fact that she means well, ends up crippling her own child).

is it just me or does christina ricci have a kewpie doll head? she gives a nice performance as a girl unable to understand her initial feelings towards pumpkin. it's weird that she seems to be the only blonde in her sorority of brunettes (while the neighboring tri sigma sorority is nothing but blondes). eliza remarked maybe this was a way of making carolyn stand out more.

the movie seemed to have ran a little too long. without giving anything away, i thought the movie should've just ended after the dance formal, instead of going on. i would've been very happy with the movie at that point, but in the extended ending, more loose ends are tied and a bigger happy ending payoff is in store for the audience, which i think is quite unnecessary, especially a cynical indie audience weened on a diet of indie films that don't usually end in happy and satisfying conclusions.

if you're going to see the movie because you've seen the trailer and thought it was funny, you might be disappointed when you actually see the film. see it only if you think the premise is worth seeing, a tale of two opposites coming together in love, a sorority girl and her mentally challenged care. with a touch of ha ha, and a touch of seriousness.

today was a hot day. mother may i hot. i wanted to go running but it was just too hot and humid, and i didn't want to see myself collapsed somewhere on the mean streets of belmont from an apparent heat stroke. so instead i hung out around the house, tried not to move too much in order to stay cool, kept myself properly hydrated, cooked some old buffalo wings (old, like there was a layer of ice fuzz on the wings, having been in the freezer for so long) in the toaster oven for lunch. later in the afternoon i made it to the house in cambridge like i usually do, inspecting last night's work, waiting for the crew to show up. i went across the street to the star market to buy some light bulbs (60W), all the ones in the house burnt out (how this happened, i'm not sure). when zuka and his crew showed up, zuka went around explaining to me what they were going to do for tonight (some more sanding, crown molding in the master bedroom, put a lock on the closet door). after i got the report, i left the house, headed down to the kendall cinema to meet eliza jones to see pumpkin.

how we ended up watching pumpkin is a long time in the making. back in june, when we went and saw cherish, we also saw a trailer for pumpkin. it looked so hilarious and over the top, we knew we had to go see it. now over a month later, it's finally happening, and not a moment too soon, since today was the last night pumpkin would be playing at the kendall cinema. after we purchased our tickets ($9/each), i got myself a small popcorn and a small strawberry slush ($6.25), while eliza bought a large cookie. eliza showed me the hand-colored piggy t-shirt she'd been making. surprisingly, the movie started with no trailers (but that's my favorite part of the movie going experience!). right away i noticed that the seating might not have been optimal, as i could see eliza trying to position her long legs in the most comfortable position. note to self: find seats next time where the seats in front of us are empty so eliza can stretch. that got me thinking that maybe there should be different theatre seatings, like a first class and coach, and that you'd get more leg room in first class.

after the movie, still early (9pm, early for unemployed people), we went to get some dinner. i'm not much of an idea man when it comes to where to go (i have my handful of usual restaurants that i go to, all scattered across the greater boston area), so eliza suggested grasshopper (1 north beacon street), a vegetarian restaurant located in allston-brighton. we got a little lost trying to find the place and i involuntarily cringed in my seat when eliza pulled the car to a stop and asked for directions. but thanks to sprint pcs assisted mobile information service, eliza was able to call the restaurant and get some directions.

the restaurant was quite crowded when we got there, and people were clapping as soon as we entered, which we found out had nothing to do with us and had everything to do with somebody else's birthday celebration. as soon as we sat down, the first thing i noticed were the recessed lights in the ceiling (i've got home remodeling fever). vegetarian restaurants scare me. it's irrational, but somewhere in the back of my mind i think vegetarians can sniff out meat eaters. i have a vision of being outed in the restaurant and being thrown into the streets, vegans inside shouting "you don't belong here!" and throwing frozen tofu cubes at me. fortunately this didn't happen, but i still kept a watchful eye on everyone in the restaurant, in case they tried something. eliza and i both got the vegetarian miso soup. it tasted sort of like miso but maybe a little off, missing that fish paste. eliza ordered some sort of soba noodle dish, i had a plate of crispy hair noodle (i think that's what it's called, looked like pan fried noodles, there were also glutens in my dish). we ate long enough so that we were the only two people left in the restaurant, 15 minutes before they closed. we doggybagged what was left of our meals, paid the bill (20%+ tip), and left.

after dinner eliza was generous enough to take me back home, so i wouldn't have to ride the bus with all the shady characters that live in belmont. after getting dropped off, i watched from my doorstep as her car disappeared into the night.