Running with Scissors (2006)

Based on the successful autobiography by the same name, Running with Scissors the film doesn't quite rise to the challenge with a clunky plot and underdeveloped characters.

Augusten Burroughs is abandoned by his neurotic and self-obsessed mother and alcoholic father in the home of his mother's shrink and his family. The new household is laced with superstition, tantrums and drugs where Augusten grows without boundaries or genuine love. 

As with many memoirs by writers turned to film, the visual can't compensate for the images conjured up by the book. The movie characters wander in and out of the story without drawing much compassion from the viewer. This is a reflection of the story though: Augusten is surrounded by vanity, greed, and emptiness.

Most disappointing though is the disjointedness of the telling. It is clear that Augusten's adolescent life was dotted with severe oddities that the makers of the film couldn't resist including. What results are far too quick episodic retellings of not much consequence rather than pausing on a select few.

Truth: We need our parents' love and modeling.

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