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Shelf Beauties |
Running With Scissors If you loved
Little Miss Sunshine, this is the movie for you. Based on the
memoirs of the same name written by Augusten Burroughs, Joseph Cross
(who can
also be seen in Flags of Our Fathers, what a year!) stars as the young
teen
Burroughs as he attempts to cope with a confusing youth. His parents, Deirdre
(Annette Benning) and
Norman (Alec Baldwin), constantly fight until they get divorced. Then, Deirdre gets all
wrapped up with a
questionable, quacky therapist, Dr. Finch (Brian Cox).
As she falls deeper under his control,
Augusten becomes part of the doctor’s family, and tries to
find something
resembling a normal life, as mayhem and tragedy occur around him. I mentioned
Little Miss Sunshine, because Running With Scissors evokes many of the same
thoughts and opinions I had of that Steve Carell movie. Writer/director Ryan Murphy continually finds
ways to mix heartache and comedy in a way that each seems to need the other in Running With Scissors. You laugh at the
crazy antics on screen, and wonder how any of this could have happened. Even Burroughs makes it very clear at the
beginning of the movie that you will find it all hard to believe, but you also
can’t believe anyone could make up this stuff as each situation is more
extraordinary than the next one. Yet,
after each laugh is the realization that the funny moment masks someone’s pain
or causes someone’s heart to break, and that’s what gets our attention and
makes you feel for the people on the story.
Murphy’s biggest
triumph in the film is the way he keeps the audience engaged even though Running With Scissors has no real plot.
We watch Augusten’s life play out before us, but the writing is so good,
and the situations so captivating that the audience is on the edge of their
seats waiting for the next comic tragic event to happen. However, not every twist is comic, which
shows us how much the character must confront.
Each character’s pain, sorrow and neuroses are on display as they fight
in psychobabble, try to justify their actions and act as if the odd is blasé,
and it works because the cast is superb. Running With Scissors has one of the most talented casts in any movie you will see this
year, led by sure thing Oscar nominee Benning.
Deirdre is one of the most complex characters you will ever see on
screen, and Benning brings out everything you will love and hate about
her. She shows us Deirdre’s narcissism,
love for her son, confusion over what her life has become, the way she has been
taken advantage of by others in her life, and, most of all, the rage that has
been building up inside of her (whether it is justified or not). Benning lost the Best Actress Oscar race twice
to Hillary Swank, but The Black Dahlia is more likely to earn Swank a Razzie
this year, so maybe this is the year for an actress who has been turning in
fantastic performances for many years. The rest of the
cast is quite good as well. Gwyneth Paltrow
shows up as the creepiest daughter ever, and will get under your skin with her
vacant stares. Then, Cox is superb as
the outrageous doc who comes off like a slick used car salesman. Finally, Evan Rachel Wood is stupendous as
the caring, troubled, heartbreaking sister-like figure Augusten so desperately
needs (and a kindred spirit), while Jill Clayburgh brings some humanity to her
role as the put upon wife who seems to have no influence, and Let’s not forget
Cross who perfectly embodies Augusten as a young, wide eyed innocent who has to
grow up faster than anyone would want.
He shows each crack of his heart in his face, yet finds a way to show us
Augusten’s strength when it’s time to act.
Running With
Scissors is a masterpiece. 4 Waffles
(Out Of 4)
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