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a home + living guide for the post-college, pre-parenthood, quasi-adult generation

11.30.2000

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flick pick | Edward Scissorhands 1990
Directed by:
Tim Burton
Written by: Tim burton, Caroline Thompson
Starring: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall
Language: English
Look for it at the video store under: drama
Watch it when you’re in the mood for something:  artsy-fartsy, fantastical, whimsical
The verdict: / 5 the rating system explained

Plot synopsis When kindhearted "Avon" lady Peg [Wiest] ventures up the hill one day to knock on the door of the dark mansion that overlooks town, she finds Edward [Depp], an artificial man with scissors for his hands. Edward’s been a mess since his inventor "father" died and left him alone, his razor-sharp fingers making it near impossible for him to take care of himself. Taking pity on poor Edward, and amazingly unfazed by his frightening appearance, Peg takes it upon herself to invite Edward into her family’s suburban home. Son Kevin decides their new guest is pretty cool, and brings him in for show-and-tell, and Peg’s friendly but oblivious husband seems barely to take notice that Edward’s somewhat freakish. And when it turns out that Edward has a talent for creating beautiful topiary sculptures, he becomes a big hit with the neighbors, who fall all over one another trying to be the first to get Edward to work his magic on their own frighteningly manicured, perfectly identical yards. As the curiosity factor wears off, however, suspicions begin to take over, for it’s clear that the misunderstood loner just doesn’t belong in this land of candy-colored houses and suburban "normalcy". When Edward falls in love with Peg’s pretty blond cheerleader daughter [Ryder], things start to get ugly.

Review I’ll admit it: I almost refused to see Edward Scissorhands, way back when it came out a decade ago, for the simple reason that it featured Johnny Depp, known then for only two things: making teenage girls swoon as they watched his dippy 80s series "21 Jump Street" (okay, okay, I watched it too) and, secondly, dating ingenue co-star Winona Ryder. It was a very happy surprise to discover that, good God, the boy can act! And Edward Scissorhands is an absolutely exquisite, gorgeously bittersweet Tim Burton fairy tale. At any rate, I’d forgotten all about how much I loved this movie until I happened to stumble across it again while flipping channels at my parents’ house this past Thanksgiving. Depp is just achingly good, with his subtle way of conveying Edward’s emotions – through sad, sad eyes and scissor twitches – despite the fact that he rarely speaks, and Dianne Wiest is adorable, evoking real sincerity despite her stereotypically perfect suburban mom smile and ever-polite, soft voice. (The one weak spot, for me, is Winona Ryder’s whiny, weak Kim, who never seems quite worthy of Edward’s love). Of course it almost goes without saying that no one creates fantasy worlds quite as charmingly, beautifully creepy (or creepily beautiful) as Tim Burton … on looks alone, Edward Scissorhands just sucks you in. And as a special bonus, the movie’s lovely explanation for why snow exists makes this a perfect rental for the holiday season. reviewed by Yee-Fan Sun 

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