Running with Scissors
User Score
5.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 59 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 59
  3. Negative: 16 out of 59

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  1. AbbyR
    Oct 20, 2006
    10
    "Where would we be without our painful childhoods?" A strong case of innocence lost, Running with Scissors will leave an imprint on you and remind you of your own dysfunctional family. Hopefully in this case you will reminisce and laugh. Whether you like it or love it, miss this film and risk being the only one who didn't see it.
  2. MissyB.
    Feb 24, 2008
    10
    I realize that all books and films are open to the cruelest of critisism, but it is worse by far for a Memoir to be judged as they are. As if they are simply a fictional story which we are to rate for entertainment value. Worse, still are comments from over sensitives that nit-picked the uncomfortable sexual 'gay sex' lessons given Augusten by Bookman. I have read how 'disgusting, horrible, offensive, trashy' those particular scenes were. Pardon, they are MEANT to be! This is the story of this man's childhood, not the dirty little paragraphs written for shock value, and to offend as many as possible. It's not entertaining enough? Are you serious? Nevermind that it IS amazing Nd beautifully adapted, it, again, is non-fiction. Are we really that arrogant now that we feel OWED by a man opening his past pain? He should make us laugh MORE, he should downplay the extent to which Bookman abused him because it may cause some to be 'uncomfortable'? As I said, it SHOULD make us queasy, but it should also amaze us that Augusten escaped with his sanity. And I for one happen to have the same twisted sense of humorbecause of and in spite of the terrible childhood that I myself had. Perhaps those who were lucky enough to be raised by Ward and June Cleaver can sit up high enough above the rest of us and judge our abuses as literary trash, but I would have advice for them: slide right by the best-sellers and locate the 'un-trashy" romance "novels" with the rippling muscle man tossing around the tight bodice wearing, helpless maiden, enjoy a 'buy two, get one FREE!' offer and, with your herbal tea, escape your reality for the 45 minutes it would take to read such 'high end literature'.… Expand
  3. EBB
    Oct 20, 2006
    9
    It truly affected me. WOW!
  4. BillyS.
    Oct 30, 2006
    9
    Running With Scissors is the first movie I've seen where every actor in the film deserves year-end recognition. The story itself is just a series of scenes put together to showcase the brilliant acting of the whole cast, and what a showcase it is! Joesph Cross is Augusten Burroughs, the narrator and heart of the movie, and he plays it with perfect detachment considering the people who share his world. Annette Bening is his mother whose meltdown is hysterically heartbreaking and lays claim to another Oscar nomination. Brian Cox has never been better, the same for Gwyneth Paltrow, Evan Rachel Wood, Alec Baldwin and Joseph Fiennes, who are all given award worthy screen time. But I must say, with all these performances to savor, it's none other than Jill Clayburgh who absolutely melts your heart as the "Dark Shadows" loving- Kibble eating loonie who is really the unlikely rock in Augusten's world. If she doesn't get an Oscar nomination for supporting actress there is no God. If you love great acting, this is the movie to see!!… Expand
  5. timr
    Feb 4, 2009
    10
    A great story set to a great soundtrack.
  6. MichaL
    Oct 19, 2006
    10
    "Scissors" is a highly ambitious film, so stylized with music and glossy editing that even fans of unconventional cinema may be surprised since it ends with an emotional release instead of a plot driven one unlike most Hollywood films. But technical aspects do not make a movie alone, the entire cast delivers each performance with deft handling despite their character's agony. No wonder there are already Oscar cries for Bening. Ryan Murphy penned a lovely though complex screenplay, and is ambitious with his directorial debut.… Expand
  7. HannaH.
    Jan 19, 2007
    9
    Extremely funny. A very appropriate cast for the characters depicted in the memoir. two thumbs up!

Critic Reviews

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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
  1. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Glenn Kenny
    38
    For the most part, Murphy is pitching somewhere between "American Beauty" and "The Royal Tenenbaums"; indeed, the characters Bening and Gwyneth Paltrow play in Scissors are, in a sense, inversions of their roles in Beauty and Tenenbaums, respectively.
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  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Frank Scheck
    60
    Too outlandish to be fully convincing, this adaptation of the best-selling memoir sacrifices subtlety for broad laughs.
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  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Justin Chang
    50
    Writer-director Ryan Murphy strives mightily to capture the bracing hilarity, pathos and surreal incident of Burroughs' bestselling memoir, but this rudderless adaptation never gets a firm grip on the author's deadpan tone or episodic narrative style.
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