Running with Scissors
Metascore
52 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 32
  3. Negative: 3 out of 32
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  1. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    83
    The surreality is distancing, but authentic, believable performances and a low-key affect keep Running From Scissors from turning shrill.

User Reviews

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User Score
5.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 59 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 27
  3. Negative: 5 out of 27
  1. Tss5078
    5
    Running With Scissors is the true story of Augusten Burroughs childhood, one that he himself admits is so far out there, that no one will believe it. He's right, the story is way out there, and it's very hard to believe that all this went on for years unnoticed. Augusten's mom is mentally ill and eventually signs his custody over to her psychologist. He and his wife live in a mess of a house, with 3 other kids, none of whom are their own, and all of whom are mentally ill. The ironic part to the whole thing is that the doctor who is supposed to help everyone seems to be more ill than anyone else. Joseph Cross is great as Augusten, and Brian Cox is hilarious as Dr. Finch. It seems as thou Cox is in everything, and he always gets those hysterical random lines. Annette Bening however steals the show. The movie was weird, the story is weird, and outside of the funny and psychotic parts, I was kind of bored. This movie wasn't great, Bening however was amazing. It's too bad this movie was so far out there and so far under the radar, because I truly believe she was Oscar worthy in this role. The story is unique, the movie isn't very good, but the acting is top notch. Running With Scissors is worth seeing if for nothing else but the outstanding performances of its cast.… Full Review »
  2. moviegrabbag
    5
    When you compare the movie to the book it falls very short. If you take the movie just as a movie its slightly better but still has a ton of problems. The biggest being that it struggles to develop all its characters and it jumps around a whole bunch. The jumping around issue is mostly caused by the fact the movie is based on a book that is a series of essays that cover many years. The movie attempts to remedy this by just crunching them all together and having them occur over what seems like maybe a year probably less. The thing that makes the movie a little better is the acting. The cast takes a very bad script and makes it slightly better.… Full Review »
  3. timr
    10
    A great story set to a great soundtrack.
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