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Running with Scissors [2007] (REGION 1) (NTSC)


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Annette Bening is the stand-out highlight in this dysfunctional "family" comedy based on the bestselling memoir by Augusten Burroughs. Although fans of the book may be slightly disappointed with the film's uneven and somewhat campy rendition of Burroughs' twisted adolescence in the 1970s, there's plenty of pleasure to be found in the work of an excellent cast led by Bening, who gives a subtle dare-to-hate-me performance as Burroughs' mother Diedre, a would-be poet who's so aloof about her teenage son Augusten (played by fresh-faced newcomer Joseph Cross, from Flags of Our Fathers) that she allows him to be legally adopted into the eccentric family of her psychiatrist, Dr. Finch (Brian Cox). As the half-crazed Finch overmedicates Diedre into a haze of semi-conscious madness, he also turns Augusten's life upside down while his wife (Jill Clayburgh) and daughters (Gwyneth Paltrow, Evan Rachel Wood) indulge their own eccentricities and Augusten enters into an intimate relationship with one of Finch's adopted patients (played by Joseph Fiennes).

As adapted and directed by Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy, Running with Scissors lacks the singular voice of Burroughs' dryly comedic first-person narrative, but even as the film struggles to find a consistent tone, it's so full of wacky behavior that you can't help laughing. It's a messy, patchwork quilt of a movie, blessed by authentically garish '70s production design and a soundtrack of familiar '70s hits. In rendering Burroughs' indelible portrait of weak, irresponsible adults and the people they victimise, Murphy and his well-chosen cast (which also includes Alec Baldwin as Diedre's ex-husband) find moments of touching pathos amidst the madness. For her part, Bening delivers an acclaimed performance that gives the film a dramatic weight it otherwise lacks. The rest is for anyone who enjoys a laugh at the freak-show expense of damaged and damaging characters. --Jeff Shannon


running with scissors
Review date: 2008-05-20 Rating: 2 out of 10

this has to be the worst film i have ever seen, it has no real story line and is more a mix of wierd characters who accomplish nothing. Do not rent this film you are wasting your life !!!

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Reviews


So what do the critics know?
Review date: 2008-02-26 Rating: 10 out of 10

Like other viewers I came to this DVD after reading poor reviews of this movie. I loved it - it is full of pathos, great humour and good performances and also has a blinding soundtrack. DVD sound and picture are excellent and there are a good few extras. Don't listen to them - its well worth a watch.

Underrated gem
Review date: 2008-01-01 Rating: 10 out of 10

I don't know how I could have missed this when it first came out. Augusten Burroughs is my favorite memoirist and I've read all his books and praise them all. So, when I heard that Running with Scissors was being made into a film I was thrilled. I think, though, when I saw that it was marketed as a comedy AND the reviews were just mediocre, I decided not to see it. Big mistake.

This is an amazing story. And, the cast was incredible-- the acting absolutely superb. I am just shocked at the poor reviews here. Not one thing was wrong with this movie. Really. Not one thing.

Jill Clayburgh and Annette Benning should have received an Academy for their part in this. Brian Cox was fantastic. And Joseph Cross, as Augusten was absolutely perfect. I can't praise Cross enough and I don't think too many people would have been able to pull this character off. Knowing Burroughs from his books, you see he has a caustic yet self-deprecating wit. But, to actually SEE him as the child he was-- maintaining his innocence while being exposed to horrendous circumstances he was exposed to actually made me appreciate Burroughs even more than I already do. Alec Baldwin, as always, played his brief part perfectly-- with empathy and depth.

Burroughs grew up in one of the most dysfunctional homes you will ever read about. After his parents divorced, he lived with his mentally ill and completely narcissistic mother until she handed Augusten over to her just-as-mentally-ill psychiatrist to raise him. The environment in this psychiatrist's home has to be seen (or read about) to be believed. Poor Augusten lived there for several years while his mother attempted to "find herself" and nurture herself at her son's expense. She even had the psychiatrist adopt her son.

Ironically, although it is difficult not to blame Burroughs' mother in all this- she's the epitome of narcissism-- the truth is, the MD is really the one to be reviled. Had his mother been treated by almost any other mental health professional rather than this one, it is likely everyone in Augusten's family would have been better off. Instead of treating his patients, the doctor did everything to mistreat them. I would like to believe that he was just insane, too, with no evil intent. But the truth is, I'm not so sure.

Somehow, despite his childhood, Augusten Burroughs became an adult to be admired. He went through incredibly difficult times, even after he left the psychiatrist's home. But, he persevered and his character was not permanently damaged. When reading his other books, it's clear that he analyzes all his behaviors and feelings and strives to be the best person he can possibly be.

This film is NOT a comedy. It has comedic elements, but it is a travesty that it was marketed as a comedy. One of the things that makes Burroughs' books so good is his dry (almost gallows) humor. But, his life isn't really a comedy. It's a tragedy that, thankfully, has a happy ending. Yes, I laughed at some parts, but it's laughter at the horror of what he lives through and the insanity of his environment. This movie is one of the most gut-wrenching films I've seen and should have been marketed entirely differently.

I really hope that the bad reviews here won't deter you from either purchasing or renting this film. I can't praise it highly enough.

Not quite saved, even by the extraordinary Bening
Review date: 2007-09-25 Rating: 6 out of 10

This film was so nearly great, and I am not quite sure why it isn't.

Bening dominates the film, as Deirdre Burroughs, the failed poet and mother who turns to an insane and dominating psychiatrist for help, becomes hooked on prescription medication and abandons her child to him. She is by turns charming, beautiful, vicious, selfish, obtunded and psychotic. The brittleness, physicality and truth of her performance are brilliant.

The rest of the cast all put in good or great performances, in particular Agnes Finch, the downtrodden wife of the mad Dr Finch, Neil Bookman, the psychotic adoptive brother, who becomes Augusten's lover and Natalie, his desperate and insightful half-sister.

And yet despite the individual performances, this film never quite comes together, which is a great shame. It lacks neither character nor incident and yet it drags in the middle. There are scenes which will stay me, which made it worth sitting through and so I cannot say this is a bad film, just not as great as it should have been and so nearly was.

Flat but faithful adaptation
Review date: 2007-07-07 Rating: 6 out of 10

I really wanted to see Running with Scissors when in opened in Britain last year, as I love the book. Unfortunately, it was only on for a week at a few screens in London before closing, and having bought the DVD I can appreciate why.

The book is Burrough's account of his childhood when his crazy mother leaves him to be looked after by her even crazier shrink and his family. It's a remarkable achievement as the author manages to make the often alarming events of his upbringing touching and funny.

The film, though an accurate (but abridged) reflection of the book, seems to miss out on the fact that it's supposed to be a comedy. This is chiefly because it makes Augusten's mother the focus of the plot, when in the book it's her absence which is the driving force. Annette Bening does a fine portrayal of mental derangement but only captures the flavour of the novel occassionally, in for example, a bizarre poetry-reading she organises for her would-be literary friends.

I liked Evan Rachel Wood's performance as Augusten's friend Natalie but she's only given a little screen time, when she should really be a central character. My favourite scenes in the novel - diving through the college waterfall and a trip whale-watching off Cape Cod - involve her but are omitted entirely here.

The only time the movie truly flickered into life for me was during the closing credits, when the real-life Augusten Burroughs stands next to the actor playing his young self. But this single moment of playfulness and humour (qualities seen repeatedly in the book), isn't enough to save a film.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Alec Baldwin
Annette Bening
Brian Cox
Gwyneth Paltrow
Joseph Cross

Creators:
Joseph Cross (Primary Contributor)
Annette Bening (Primary Contributor)
Ryan Murphy (Writer)
Augusten Burroughs (Producer)
Augusten Burroughs (Writer)
Bonnie Weis (Producer)
Brad Grey (Producer)
Brad Pitt (Producer)
Dede Gardner (Producer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
EAN: 0043396159136
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Colour, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC,
Release date: 2007-02-06
Universal product code (UPC): 043396159136
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 116 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2006-10-27
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: Portuguese (Subtitled)
Language: Chinese (Subtitled)
Language: Korean (Subtitled)
Language: French (Dubbed)
Language: Portuguese (Dubbed)
Language: Spanish (Dubbed)

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