*Spoiler warning - 2nd paragraph* Pumpkin is not a black comedy. It is not a farce. It is not a drama, not a romance, not a satire, and not a parody. All the things that Pumpkin is not seem to really confuse people, and when they're confused, and don't get it, they don't like it. But if you go into this movie without real expectations, you will probably find yourself very pleasantly surprised, especially if you pay careful attention to the Cinderella reference at the end...
*spoilers in the following paragraph* What Pumpkin is, is completely surreal (like a fairy tale). The plot is surreal: Sorority girl Caroline McDuffy has a perfect and not-normal-in-its-normalcy life, until she falls in love with the retarded Pumpkin. The presentation is surreal: I've read more comments that say "it's not believable when Kent lives through falling off a cliff in a car that blow up." It's not supposed to be realistic or believable, and more than the scene where a nun and some rats block Caroline's line of sight, or the scene where her poetry teacher kneels to her, or the scene where Pumpkin hits Kent, or the scene where Carolin takes Pumpkin to the ball. The acting and dialogue and tone are surreal - just a bit too two-dimensional, plastic, clichéd, but it's fakery with such depth (rather reminds me of Holly Golightly; a phony, but a real phony). Completely bizarre.
In addition to surreal, Pumpkin is also funny, edgy, over-the-top, sometimes touching, and ultimately ambiguous. Therein is the brilliance of Pumpkin - it keeps you on edge, guessing. But as long as you're not trying to analyze it, box it, type it, or whatever, that's fun.
*spoilers in the following paragraph* What Pumpkin is, is completely surreal (like a fairy tale). The plot is surreal: Sorority girl Caroline McDuffy has a perfect and not-normal-in-its-normalcy life, until she falls in love with the retarded Pumpkin. The presentation is surreal: I've read more comments that say "it's not believable when Kent lives through falling off a cliff in a car that blow up." It's not supposed to be realistic or believable, and more than the scene where a nun and some rats block Caroline's line of sight, or the scene where her poetry teacher kneels to her, or the scene where Pumpkin hits Kent, or the scene where Carolin takes Pumpkin to the ball. The acting and dialogue and tone are surreal - just a bit too two-dimensional, plastic, clichéd, but it's fakery with such depth (rather reminds me of Holly Golightly; a phony, but a real phony). Completely bizarre.
In addition to surreal, Pumpkin is also funny, edgy, over-the-top, sometimes touching, and ultimately ambiguous. Therein is the brilliance of Pumpkin - it keeps you on edge, guessing. But as long as you're not trying to analyze it, box it, type it, or whatever, that's fun.