Movie Recommendation: Running with Scissors

I'm no review type of person coz I'm never expressive enough to translate my good or bad feelings into a lengthy analysis of why I feel that way. The only thing I'm capable of writing about a movie or a book or even a restaurant will be either 'good' or 'bad, or 'so-so' if it falls somewhere in between. Well, words like 'very' and 'quite' will definitely make my comments more sophisticated but stars are most helpful in scaling my likeness.

For this movie, I'll give it 10/10 stars and so far the best one I've watched this year, DVDs included (FYI: I've also watched Little Miss Sunshine and The Lives of Others which was previously my favourite). That's why I try to write about it here despite my review handicap.

Let me feed you the synopsis first like other reviews do. Based on the bestselling personal memoirs of Augusten Burroughs who is now an advertising elite in Manhattan, Running with Scissors depicts how young Augusten was abandoned by his alcoholic dad and his mentally unstable mum who turned into a lesbian after the divorce. Augusten was then left in custody with his mum's therapist, Dr. Finch, whose family was no more normal than the Addams. Yet, he felt the long-lost motherly love in Mrs. Finch. Gay puppy love, school skipping and journal writing have since characterized his childhood. At the age of 15, he walked out of the identity crisis and decided to pursue his life on his own.

Being the director cum screenwriter (also the creator of Nip/Tuck), Ryan Murphy has again proven his talent in handling pathetic plots though this one did not dig deep enough into its roots and wounds. With a bit of psychology knowledge, one will enjoy the hilarious, witty dialogue and the pathetic yet heartrending plot. It's not difficult to find yourself laugh and sob with Augusten. One will be thrilled to know how the teenage Augusten has actually survived the Finches which are psychotic enough to fit in a series of psychological disorders and make a perfect illustrating tool in a psychology lecture. Actually, Augusten has co-authored a book called Abormal Psychology & Running with Scissors following the success of his memoir.

The story is fictional enough to be made an interesting movie but the fact that it was real gives the movie (and the book) a gimmick to market and wow the audience, even though the real Finch family filed a lawsuit against Augusten for fabricating and exaggerating part of the story (but lawsuits like this will only fuel public curiosity and boost the marketing of the movie). Without that touch of reality that backs the story up and the fact that Augusten is now a sought-after advertising agent-turned-writer, the whole movie will be pointless (would the log-the-Cherry-Tree-then-come-clean tale be widely told if Washington the first US President was not that little boy who did it?). After all, the public is after something fictionally real nowadays (look at the success of the pseudo-reality shows).

As for the music, again all I can say is fantastic and the 70s selection goes perfectly well with the mood of the movie.

Movies of this type--no CG-laden action movie, oscar nominated film or money-splashing big production--can never make its way to the theatres here. This one is no exception (correct me if I'm wrong) even though I think it is commercial enough to have Augusten Burroughs the bestselling author's childhood as the plot and Gwyneth Paltrow starred as one of the Finches. Well...if Tsotsi the best Oscar foreign movie and the Live of Others the Oscar foreign movie nominee are only shown in dismally few theatre houses in Hong Kong, it's not surprising to find this one released on DVD only.

I've checked IMDb and rottentomatoes about this movie and the comments are rather polarized--you love it or you hate it--and there's no lukewarm feeling. Those who hate it belong to the book-before-movie group who loves the book but is discontent with the lousy movie adaptation. So I assume if I like the movie, I'll love the book.

You may doubt my taste now that I admit preferring Running with Scissors to the Lives of Others. I like serious movies of course but I always prefer hilarious ones (Thank You for Smoking is another favourite of mine and this one is much better than Running with Scissors).

I'm looking forward to reading this book and Dry which is also written by Augusten about his post-adolescence life but I think I can only do it in the next long holiday at Easter.

P.S. I know my writing is overloaded with brackets, but I just can't help it. Please tolerate them.