The Joy of Running With Scissors

The doctor is in -- Picture courtesy Tristar

by blogSpotter
If you come from a dysfunctional family, you might find several things that look familiar in Augusten Burrough's biography, Running with Scissors. Even if you don't come from the Adams family, you'll be fascinated by the story of a creative, gay teenager whose parents go thru a nasty divorce. His father disavows the family, leaving Augusten with his manic depressive, poet mother. The mother, unable to handle her own life or reality in general, gives Augusten over for adoption to her equally nutball psychiatrist, Dr. Finch.

Dr. Finch is a "new age" person who believes that children should create their own boundaries. He presides over a filthy, fallen down manse on an otherwise upscale street. His wife Agnes is a frightened shadow of a woman and the house is a bedlam additionally populated by his haunted, older, 20-something daughter Hope and his more outgoing, naughty teenage daughter Natalie. Augusten becomes part of this weird family from age 13 to about age 18; my own impression is that he keys into their weirdness very easily and seems to enjoy, if not profit from, much of the goings on.

The book was recently turned into a movie with a stellar cast including Alec Baldwin as the father, and Gwyneth Paltrow playing Hope. Annette Benning is superb as the mother, Deidre Burroughs -- vacillating from a beautifully coifed Anne Sexton wannabe, to a madwoman in the throes of mania. The movie has received some savage reviews; I suspect many come from 'ordinary' people who can't imagine this type of family setting anywhere, ever. Justin Chang, of Variety, gives probably a nicer review; he says that the movie suffered in translation from book to movie, becoming a series of chaotic outbursts and lacking the author’s first-person deadpan, comic point of view. He might have something there, and yet the movie fascinated me nonetheless. Brian Cox had the perfect touches of both evil and innocence playing Dr. Finch. Joseph Fiennes was schizoid superbness as "step-brother" Neil; Jill Clayburgh was haunting as Agnes. Evan Rachel Wood was slutty perfection as Natalie and of course, Joseph Cross was good as the sensitive young Augusten.

I don't recommend running with scissors, but I heartily recommend Running with Scissors. It may help to listen to the book on tape, to get the 'cohesive narrative' before you see the movie. Then, no matter how weird your life is, be glad that you don't have a step dad who predicts financial turnarounds by the shape of his stool. Perhaps I've said too much already. :-)

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