Rental Review: Ed Wood!

Ed Wood

By JoeRo

Score: 7/10 (Entertaining!)

Bottom Line: Spend Your Money

To-The-Point: Martin Landaeu warms my heart as the weathered Bela Lugosi in a Biopic tailored for audiences of the nerdier proportions.

Complete Truth:

"Ed Wood" presents the legacy of one of the most critically panned writers/directors/producers/actors to ever hit any sized screen. This Tim Burton film is a slow paced, esoteric yet enjoyable little project that marks the climax of the Burton/Depp saga. Burton takes liberties with Ed Wood's "style" in various scenes, be it the introduction by Criswell or the intermittent use of transitional swipes, and Depp brings assertiveness and guile into an incredibly naive auteur whose films earned him the distinction as the Worst Director of all-time.

Tim Burton's take on Ed Wood's youthful cinematic journeys is comparable to a combination of "Behind the Scenes" documentaries strung together, capturing the fine details that shaped Edward D. Wood Jr.'s earlier works. See Wood glide through the struggles of funding cinematic visions, casting close friends and outdated thespians, and not sweating the small stuff. It is a must see for victims of "Glen or Glenda", "Bride of the Monster", or my personal favorite, the sleep inducing awefullness that is "Plan 9 from Outer Space".

Given "Ed Wood's" high tomatometer rating (90%) and incredible lack of box office success(less than 6 million worldwide), I can safely theorize that those who enjoyed "Ed Wood" are either movie critics, horror movie connoisseurs, or anyone (un)fortunate enough to witness the likes of "Plan 9..." and subsequently crave the life story of the man around the camera. Odd how constructing the exact opposite of a good film inspires a cult following. Even odder, I now have the urge to see a "Uwe Boll" biopic, for then I can catch a glimpse of the brilliance behind "Alone in the Dark 2".

What "Ed Wood" does offer to everybody is Martin Landau's award winning portrayal of Bela Lugosi, a performance so spot on that it ousted Samuel L. Jackson's only academy award nomination (Pulp Fiction). Then again, I'm starting to think the academy has failed to acknowledge the extent of Mr. Jackson's efforts; I mean, this is the same guy who portrayed Elvin McElroy in Formula 51.

Ed Wood, a Touchstone Home Entertainment release, Rated R for some strong language.

Total running time is 127 minutes.

Starring Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, Bill Murray, and George "The Animal" Steele as Tor Johnson. Directed by Tim Burton.