Running with Scissors (C or 2/4 stars)
'Running with Scissors' is a dramedy directed by Ryan Murphy. This is the story of Augusten Burroughs (Joseph Cross), a boy who was abandoned by his drunk father (Alec Baldwin), his mentally unstable mother, Dierdre (Annette Bening), but then turns the tables & abandons her! I like how mental illness is depicted all throughout this film; it's fairly accurate. But like the illness, there's a manic quality to this film. I liked parts. But it's too crazy, too dysfunctional, at times.
By age 14, Augusten's parents are divorced. Dierdre seems to think she's a world class poet in-the-making. She wants nothing but recognition & fame. This means that her son takes a back seat. She decides to dump him off at the unorthodox household of her psychiatrist, Dr. Finch (a surprisingly annoying Brian Cox). To say his family is dysfunctional is a harsh understatement. You've got his wild-child daughter (the pretty Evan Rachel Wood), his other psychotic daughter (Gwyneth Paltrow), a homosexual who makes advances on Augusten (Joseph Fiennes), & Finch's disheveled, muted wife (played well by Jill Clayburgh). Look out for a scene where Hope (Paltrow) cooks a stew ... you may not want to know what kind of meat she uses.
Augusten refuses to go to school; he keeps an intriguing journal (from whence this movie is based), & practices cosmetology. As the relationship btwn. his dad & mom worsens, so does her medical condition. Augusten decides that he wants to be a part & parcel of the Finch household; mom can go to Hell with her poet aspirations. But Finch is responsible for a lot of goings on. It seems he's over-medicated everybody he knows. With the poignant, unexpected help from Mrs. Finch, can Augusten right himself & find a straight-and-narrow path in life? You find out in this semi-autobiographical account of Burrough's adolescence.
The story is so bizarre and so deadpan that it keeps you watching. I loved the creepy Finch mansion (complete with a Christmas tree that never comes down). The era, its clothes, music, & set designs are interesting. Everyone consumes large amounts of valium. Finch's electroshock machine is in use. What fun!! The film is cast well, though, the characters are unredeemingly unlikable (a problem). Annette Bening is quite witty as the emotionally disturbed mom; though, she does overact, at times. Although the conclusion came out of nowhere, at least it was touching (after a movie full of cruelties). I liked it more than others. But make no mistake, this is a shrill, unfocused film. It tries way too hard to be eccentric; it's ridiculously erratic. Nothing seems entirely authentic; and that's a detriment.
By age 14, Augusten's parents are divorced. Dierdre seems to think she's a world class poet in-the-making. She wants nothing but recognition & fame. This means that her son takes a back seat. She decides to dump him off at the unorthodox household of her psychiatrist, Dr. Finch (a surprisingly annoying Brian Cox). To say his family is dysfunctional is a harsh understatement. You've got his wild-child daughter (the pretty Evan Rachel Wood), his other psychotic daughter (Gwyneth Paltrow), a homosexual who makes advances on Augusten (Joseph Fiennes), & Finch's disheveled, muted wife (played well by Jill Clayburgh). Look out for a scene where Hope (Paltrow) cooks a stew ... you may not want to know what kind of meat she uses.
Augusten refuses to go to school; he keeps an intriguing journal (from whence this movie is based), & practices cosmetology. As the relationship btwn. his dad & mom worsens, so does her medical condition. Augusten decides that he wants to be a part & parcel of the Finch household; mom can go to Hell with her poet aspirations. But Finch is responsible for a lot of goings on. It seems he's over-medicated everybody he knows. With the poignant, unexpected help from Mrs. Finch, can Augusten right himself & find a straight-and-narrow path in life? You find out in this semi-autobiographical account of Burrough's adolescence.
The story is so bizarre and so deadpan that it keeps you watching. I loved the creepy Finch mansion (complete with a Christmas tree that never comes down). The era, its clothes, music, & set designs are interesting. Everyone consumes large amounts of valium. Finch's electroshock machine is in use. What fun!! The film is cast well, though, the characters are unredeemingly unlikable (a problem). Annette Bening is quite witty as the emotionally disturbed mom; though, she does overact, at times. Although the conclusion came out of nowhere, at least it was touching (after a movie full of cruelties). I liked it more than others. But make no mistake, this is a shrill, unfocused film. It tries way too hard to be eccentric; it's ridiculously erratic. Nothing seems entirely authentic; and that's a detriment.