Running with Scissors (2006)

Young Augusten Burroughs absorbs experiences that could make for a shocking memoir: the son of an alcoholic father and an unstable mother, he's handed off to his mother's therapist, Dr. Finch, and spends his adolescent years as a member of Finch's bizarre extended family.

Director:

Ryan Murphy

Writers:

Ryan Murphy (screenplay), Augusten Burroughs (book)

Stars:

Annette Bening, Brian Cox, Joseph Cross

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Annette Bening	...	Deirdre Burroughs
Brian Cox	...	Dr. Finch
Joseph Fiennes	...	Neil Bookman
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Natalie Finch
Alec Baldwin	...	Norman Burroughs
Joseph Cross	...	Augusten Burroughs
Jill Clayburgh	...	Agnes Finch
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Hope Finch
Gabrielle Union	...	Dorothy
Patrick Wilson	...	Michael Shephard
Kristin Chenoweth	...	Fern Stewart
Dagmara Dominczyk	...	Suzanne
Colleen Camp	...	Joan
Jack Kaeding	...	Six-Year-Old Augusten Burroughs
Gabriel Guedj	...	Poo

Storyline

The story of how a boy was abandoned by his mother and how he, later, abandoned her. The year he'll be 14, the parents of Augusten Burroughs (1965- ) divorce, and his mother, who thinks of herself as a fine poet on the verge of fame, delivers him to the eccentric household of her psychiatrist, Dr. Finch. During that year, Augusten avoids school, keeps a journal, and practices cosmetology. His mother's mental illness worsens, he takes an older lover, he finds friendship with Finch's younger daughter, and he's the occasional recipient of gifts from an unlikely benefactor. Can he survive to come of age?

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Plot Keywords:

cosmetology | fame | therapist | poet | school | 

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Taglines:

He's looking forward to a memory he won't have to suppress

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Recortes de mi vida

Filming Locations:

Milbank & McFie House - 3340 Country Club Drive, Midtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$226,108 (USA) (20 October 2006)

Gross:

$6,754,898 (USA) (17 November 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Plan B Entertainment, Sound for Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 122 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Julianne Moore was originally attached to play Deirdre Burroughs.

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Goofs

In 1978 the Gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows" was being shown on the TV in Dr. Finch's house. The show was cancelled in 1971 an wasn't shown in reruns on cable until the 80's.

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Quotes

Augusten Burroughs: According to Hope, Freud died of kitty leukemia. According to me, Freud died of being trapped in a laundry basket for four days without food or water.

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Connections

References The Exorcist (1973)

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Soundtracks

"Bennie and the Jets"
(1973)
Written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Performed by Elton John
Courtesy of Mercury Records Limited
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Augusten And The Flip Side Of Wonderland

The true story of Augusten Burroughs's beginnings, sound like a demented work of fiction. That's true of most true things. Here, putting aside what's real and what may be a figment of Augusten's imagination, there is a movie. A slightly confused, a bit pretentious but unquestionably fun movie with some high caliber actors at the top of their game. Annette Bening to start with, extraordinary and without clinging to one of her delightful giggles. She is a magnificent, deplorable human spectacle. Reconizable and yet totally alien. Her character is in her way down from the word go and she (Annette or Deidre)don't shy away from the most devastating human blows. She is surrounded by a beautifully designed human zoo of extreme characters. They carry their eccentricities like badges of honor. Brian Cox, superb as the Dickensian know-it-all, his daughters , Evan Rachel Wood and the magnificent Gwynneth Paltrow who can tell you more with half a look than with two pages of exposition. Jill Claybourgh! Goodness gracious me! Where has she been? She's the throbbing heart of the matter, dog food an all. Her sanity, hidden behind a demented, neglected hairdo, is as real as Joseph Cross' Augusten Burroughs. Joseph Finnes's gorgeous nut doesn't have a great deal of sexual chemistry with his under age lover but maybe he wasn't suppose to. As if all this wasn't enough, Alec Baldwin, giving one of the best performances of his career in a character who's on the screen for only a few minutes. Woody Allen, John Irvin even Eugene Ionesco and Frank Perry are present in this engaging display of human frailty. Terrific surprise.