21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
If You Think Your Family Is Nuts..., April 22, 2007
...they'll seem like the poster children for mental and emotional health, after watching this film!
Augusten Burroughs (Joseph Cross) grows up in a household with his mother, Deirdre (Annette Benning), who has severe mental stability issues. I am no psychiatrist so I am not even going to try to label her. He also has an alcoholic father, Norman (Alec Baldwin), who seems to have little to no interest in his son. In fact, because of his absence, I thought at the beginning of the film Augusten's parents were already divorced.
Deirdre is more dependant on her son than he is on her, he seems to care for her, and she seems to lean on him. She is an aspiring poet who lets her son skip school to do her hair and plan parties. The mother and father fight right in front of Augusten without a thought to him or his feelings. After a rather explosive fight they seek marital counseling and that's our introduction to the colorful Dr. Finch (Brian Cox). Through a series of events Augusten ends up living with the Finch's and we are wrapped up in another household filled with the emotionally and mentally unstable.
Despite his surroundings, you watch Augusten grow up to be relatively 'normal'. In his need for stability and normalcy, he finds the unlikely hero in the form of the long suffering housewife of Dr.Finch, Agnes (Jill Clayburgh). She really touched me in the way she cared for Augusten.
With all the craziness that occurs in this film, it should be a lot darker than it is. Surprisingly this movie makes humor out of situations that should horrify. I laughed more than I cried; I giggled more than I gasped. In real life, none of the situations portrayed would be amusing, I don't think I could have watched the film without the humor; it would have been too depressing. The acting in this movie, by everyone, was absolutely excellent, real and flawless. The movie reminded me a bit of The Royal Tenenbaums, the crazy, surreal family.
This was a good movie and I really enjoyed it, but it did make me think people should have to pass a series of tests in order to procreate and raise children, yikes!
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best movie of the year, October 7, 2007
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.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dark Humor found in a dysfunctionally functional childhood, February 7, 2007
This was a plesent surprise to pick up and watch the film adaptation of this book based on the memiors of Augusten Burrough, who at the age of 15 was signed away by his mother into the guardianship of her psychiatrist. This movie does an excellent job of portraying mental illness (bipolar and schizophrenia) and what actually occurs in the minds and daily lives of those who struggle with it. As for the Dr. Fitch, he is the exception to regular psychiatry, with loose boundaries and inappropriate relations with patients ended actually helping one of them. To those with mental illness, what appears to be real or "normal" to them can appear unbelievable to us. For Agusten, he grew up with no rules or boundaries, and it is amazing to see what will and insight can do. This is a great depiction of someone who overcame tremendous barriers to become something great. Thank him for sharing it with us. Rent this buy this read this, worth the time
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