Chris Beaumont
beaumont@ifa.hawaii.edu
2680 Woodlawn Drive
Honolulu, HI 96822
Publication Date: November 10, 2006
Calvin Chimes
Headline: Disappointing but not dismissable
“Running With Scissors” is Disappointing but not Dismissable
Chris Beaumont
About halfway through “Running With Scissors,” Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy’s first attempt at a feature film, I thought I had the film pegged. I was sure it was a poorly executed, cynical comedy marketed as the next “Little Miss Sunshine” but failing to say anything worthwhile. I even came up with a bunch of witty, snide ways to conclude this review that I really want to use.
Unfortunately, I cannot use any of these conclusions, because the second half of the movie challenges the idea that the film is worthless. To be sure, the latter part of the film doesn’t really make any arguments for the film’s merit, but merely hints at enough unarticulated thoughts to make one think.
“Scissors” is based on the memoirs of Augusten Burroughs, played in the film by Joseph Cross. Augusten is the son of detached Norman (Alec Baldwin) and narcissistic Deidre (Annette Bening), and is sent to live with his parents’ psychiatrist Dr. Finch (Brian Cox) after they divorce. Of course, everyone is quirky; Bening is a terrible poet, criticizing but eschewing sentimentality in every scene. Dr. Finch has such an absurd devotion to psychoanalysis that he is blind to the basic problems of his family and patients. Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays a minor role as Dr. Finch’s daughter, believes she can talk to her (dead) cat.
It’s all set up quite conveniently to be a comic exploration of everyone’s foibles. Like I said, the film is being marketed as a “Sunshine”esque film that satirizes but ultimately affirms the dysfunctional family. Upon starting the film, one quickly realizes that this is not what “Scissors” is about.
For a comedy, the camera shots are too long, the scenes are too slow, the humor is too sparse, and the attitudes are too acerbic. Furthermore, what begins as a comic tale about a boy’s obsequious devotion to his mother quickly degrades into a story where the characters’ weaknesses threaten to destroy any notion of hope. Character development is sacrificed along the way, so nobody really cares that these characters are suffering. There seems to be two possible conclusions to draw: either “Scissors” is a poorly executed comedy, or it is an overly cynical and unproductive criticism of the notion of family.
Again, I don’t think either of these appraisals are accurate. First, the film is too intentional to be a failed comedy. Though the film’s slow pace hurts its comic timing, it moves too slowly to be accidental. Instead, the film’s strange conventions seem a bit experimental, challenging the notions of the flow of cinematic time.
Further, minor events in the film’s second half challenge the notion that the film is hopelessly cynical. The latter portion of the movie witnesses the introduction of Finch’s wife Agnes (Jill Clayburgh). In her few scenes, Agnes portrays a woman willing to sacrifice for her family, and constitutes the film’s only selfless character.
Agnes’ perspective gives context to the conflicts in the film; her presence suggests that these struggles do not portray life in its most fundamental form, but rather represent an aberration from Agnes’ more purposeful yearning for harmony. Unfortunately, Agnes is relegated to a minor role in the film, and these thoughts are never articulated into anything meaningful.
While “Scissors” held my attention though the film, it did so marginally. It attempts to portray interesting people, but does so without taking the time to develop them in any significant way. Nevertheless, it does pull off some clever scenes. If it were compressed into an hour, it would probably make a good first half of a movie. As it stands, I am waiting for the conclusion, when something worthwhile is pulled out of these characters.
Calvin Chimes
Headline: Disappointing but not dismissable
“Running With Scissors” is Disappointing but not Dismissable
Chris Beaumont
About halfway through “Running With Scissors,” Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy’s first attempt at a feature film, I thought I had the film pegged. I was sure it was a poorly executed, cynical comedy marketed as the next “Little Miss Sunshine” but failing to say anything worthwhile. I even came up with a bunch of witty, snide ways to conclude this review that I really want to use.
Unfortunately, I cannot use any of these conclusions, because the second half of the movie challenges the idea that the film is worthless. To be sure, the latter part of the film doesn’t really make any arguments for the film’s merit, but merely hints at enough unarticulated thoughts to make one think.
“Scissors” is based on the memoirs of Augusten Burroughs, played in the film by Joseph Cross. Augusten is the son of detached Norman (Alec Baldwin) and narcissistic Deidre (Annette Bening), and is sent to live with his parents’ psychiatrist Dr. Finch (Brian Cox) after they divorce. Of course, everyone is quirky; Bening is a terrible poet, criticizing but eschewing sentimentality in every scene. Dr. Finch has such an absurd devotion to psychoanalysis that he is blind to the basic problems of his family and patients. Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays a minor role as Dr. Finch’s daughter, believes she can talk to her (dead) cat.
It’s all set up quite conveniently to be a comic exploration of everyone’s foibles. Like I said, the film is being marketed as a “Sunshine”esque film that satirizes but ultimately affirms the dysfunctional family. Upon starting the film, one quickly realizes that this is not what “Scissors” is about.
For a comedy, the camera shots are too long, the scenes are too slow, the humor is too sparse, and the attitudes are too acerbic. Furthermore, what begins as a comic tale about a boy’s obsequious devotion to his mother quickly degrades into a story where the characters’ weaknesses threaten to destroy any notion of hope. Character development is sacrificed along the way, so nobody really cares that these characters are suffering. There seems to be two possible conclusions to draw: either “Scissors” is a poorly executed comedy, or it is an overly cynical and unproductive criticism of the notion of family.
Again, I don’t think either of these appraisals are accurate. First, the film is too intentional to be a failed comedy. Though the film’s slow pace hurts its comic timing, it moves too slowly to be accidental. Instead, the film’s strange conventions seem a bit experimental, challenging the notions of the flow of cinematic time.
Further, minor events in the film’s second half challenge the notion that the film is hopelessly cynical. The latter portion of the movie witnesses the introduction of Finch’s wife Agnes (Jill Clayburgh). In her few scenes, Agnes portrays a woman willing to sacrifice for her family, and constitutes the film’s only selfless character.
Agnes’ perspective gives context to the conflicts in the film; her presence suggests that these struggles do not portray life in its most fundamental form, but rather represent an aberration from Agnes’ more purposeful yearning for harmony. Unfortunately, Agnes is relegated to a minor role in the film, and these thoughts are never articulated into anything meaningful.
While “Scissors” held my attention though the film, it did so marginally. It attempts to portray interesting people, but does so without taking the time to develop them in any significant way. Nevertheless, it does pull off some clever scenes. If it were compressed into an hour, it would probably make a good first half of a movie. As it stands, I am waiting for the conclusion, when something worthwhile is pulled out of these characters.