Running with Scissors (2006)

Director:

Ryan Murphy

Writers (WGA):

Ryan Murphy (screenplay)
Augusten Burroughs (book)

Release Date:

27 October 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Ever have one of those lives?

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Divorce | Therapist | Memoir | Racist Comment | Kitchen

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

USA:116 min | USA:122 min (DVD) | Argentina:116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Finland:K-15 | UK:15 | Ireland:16 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Singapore:M18 | Germany:12 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | New Zealand:R16 | Netherlands:6 | Australia:MA | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Plan B Entertainment

Trivia:

Julianne Moore was originally attached to play Deirdre Burroughs.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: There are two identical scenes of the family station wagon driving by. In both scenes, the station wagon passes the same section of street (including a blue 1965 Chevy Impala parked along the curb).

Quotes:

Deirdre Burroughs: [addressing her poetry class] Get the rage on the page.

Movie Connections:

References My Fair Lady (1964)

Soundtrack:

O Tannenbaum

Love, Pain And Hair

Irritating at times but only at times when the writer, director, producer puts himself in front of the camera and all we see it's him. But, most of the time this is a surprising, smart comedy of pains with a sensational Annette Bening - her best performance without a doubt - her disintegration is, apart from everything else, shattering and absurdly entertaining. She descends her psychic road wrecking havoc wherever she wants to do "the best thing for you". Under the effects of the medication and the advise of her con-shrink she slides away, brilliantly. Alec Baldwin has three little moments that he manages to wrap with so much truth that his character lingers in my mind. Well, there you are, I'm talking about the performances because that's what makes this movie really fly. Jill Claybourgh, Joseph Finnes, Brian Cox, Gwynneth Paltrow, Evan Rachel Wood and Joseph Cross with his literary future and his thing for hair, they all transform this stranger than fiction real life tale into something memorable, yes, memorable. I don't quite understand why this film was so mistreated by critic and public alike. I found more rewarding elements here than in most of what 2006 had to offer at the movies. Give it a try.