Running with Scissors

Based on the personal memoirs of Augusten Burroughs, Running with Scissors is a tediously irksome, unfunny hodgepodge of a film. Directed by Ryan Murphy (TV’s Nip/Tuck), it features an all-star cast, headed by Joseph Cross as Burroughs and Annette Bening as his wacky mother Deirdre, whose talents are wasted and mired by the outlandish situations that are presented one after the other. Young Augusten, who spent much of his childhood watching his mother reside amidst her many dreams of grandeur, is now forced to cope with the divorce of his parents. His mother’s therapist, Dr. Finch (Brian Cox), takes him in to live with his own bizarre family, all of whom are no less off the deep end than Deirdre. This is the main problem with the film. Every character seems to be a lamb-chop shy of a mixed grill, devoid of any semblance of normalcy. Augusten’s father (Alec Baldwin) is perhaps the most refreshing person in the movie for the simple fact that he has the least amount of marbles rolling around in his head. Other films that feature a cast of quirky characters—such as The Royal Tenenbaums—work because the dialogue is usually funny and the people are, at times, endearing. Unfortunately, Running with Scissors possesses neither of these traits. The viewer is left with a rather dull storyline that attempts to be humorous, but is instead overwhelmed by the eccentricities of its characters.

Directed by Ryan Murphy.
Written by Ryan Murphy.
Starring Joseph Cross, Annette Bening, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Evan Rachel Wood, Jill Clayburgh, Alec Baldwin and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Rated R for strong language and elements of sexuality, violence and substance abuse. 116 min.

*½ so says The Fish