Running with Scissors

Based on the bestselling memoir by Augusten Burroughs, director Ryan Murphy's Running with Scissors is essentially about the torturous relationship between Augusten (Joseph Cross) and his histrionic mother (Annette Bening), an emotionally unstable woman who divorces her husband and dumps the boy off with an unconventional shrink (Brian Cox) and his equally eerie family—a mousy wife (Jill Clayburgh), two daughters (Gwyneth Paltrow as the snooty one, Evan Rachel Wood as the lascivious one), and an adopted son (Joseph Fiennes) who's both gay and schizophrenic. The fact that all of them act in unpredictable ways is fine—at least it keeps the proceedings from becoming tediously formulaic—but the story still requires a modest dose of believability to persuade us that these people are remotely real. Unfortunately, this is precisely what the film sorely lacks, making it one of the most grating, irritating movies of 2006. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a nine-minute “Inside Outsiders” cast featurette, “A Personal Memoir by Augusten Burroughs” author interview (6 min.), a five-minute “Creating the Cuckoo's Nest” set design featurette, and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing adaptation.] (F. Swietek)