Review of Running with Scissors (2006) by Michael M — 20 Jun 2009

It's true that this cuts out a lot from its source material, but what's more important is that it successfully captures the mood of the book. The situations depicted are so ridiculous that you have to laugh, at least at first, but other parts are depressing and you can't avoid seeing what a tragedy this boy's childhood was, a comedy only in the darkest sense.

All of the acting is commendable, but special props go to Annette Bening, whose performance of physical and emotional deterioration is heartbreaking. My complaints are more technical, like the way almost every scene has music even when it's distracting, and it feels more like a series of vignettes than the book does.

Also, terrible casting of an adult to play a teenage boy, which is not only unbelievable but unnecessary since there is nothing too graphic.