nan | 楠木

Running with Scissors, as far as my opinions go, is a largely unsuccessful attempt at a coming-of-age film. The typical elements are there: the dysfunctional family (and not one, two in this film), the oddball characters (basically, every character in this film is screwed up one way or another), and surrealistic dialogs that are meant to be meaningful (but ends up so false).

The film is about Augusten, a 14 year old whose life is already a train-wreck. His parents are divorced, because his mom blames his dad for being an alcoholic, while his mom also has psychiatric issues herself. His mom goes to see a shrink, Dr. Finch, who is also a shady character (he sleeps with his patients and is more interested in enlarging their fantasies rather than solving their issues). Finch has three children (two adopted), and every one of them is messed up, one way or the other. He eventually gets guardian rights for Augusten too. Augusten develops a bond with Natalie, Finch’s 2nd daughter and also adopted. Were it not for the fact that Augusten is gay, the two would have made a good pair.

The entire film, in retrospect, is about Augusten trying to break out of his abnormal environment and trying to live his own life. That’s why I would categorize it as a coming-of-age film, though it is of course also a film about dysfunctional families. A few films with similar themes or styles immediately come to mind: Little Miss Sunshine (dysfunctional family), Almost Famous (coming-of-age) and Garden State (dysfunctional character, coming of age). Those films are, in my opinion, far superior than Running with Scissors, which ultimately feels too fake. It has the scenes – characters doing weird things such as tearing down the ceiling to a background of sentimental music, symbolizing the struggle to break free – but the emotion is not sincere.

5/10