running with scissors

[Shantimama]

Has anyone else seen this?

I just watched tonight - I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

[yitlan]

I read the book and am curious to hear about the movie. If I see it, it won't be for awhile...

[happiestmomma]

I just started reading the book. I'm looking forward to watching the movie. Is it as wacky as the book? I'mhaving a hard time picturing the family...so crazy!

[MsChatsAlot]

I liked it....but I couldn't really say why. It was twisted and dark and yet, there was something oddly appealing about it.

[Shantimama]

That was my mother when I was growing up : We didn't have the cast iof extra characters but I couldn't beleive the similarities to my childhood. It was hilarious seeing it on screen like that.

Is it a true story?

[Kodachrome]

I loved it - although the book is much, much better.

The book is a "memoir," so I'd say most of the story is true.

[PapayaVagina]

I thought I was going to really like it, but I hated it

I thought the movie just wasn't well put together. Seemed more cheesy rather than dysfunctional. I thought the acting was bad :

I could see how the book could be really good though!

[OakBerry]

I think the movie, as itself, was pretty good and entertaining. But it was much different from the book. The character of Natalie was supposed to, according to the book, look like "a fat Princess Diana". The actress was slim and pretty and scantily clad in the movie. Her attitude was pretty dead on though. And Hope, played by Gwenyth Paltrow, was supposed to have long black hair and be quite striking looking, The author compared her to a Native American in the book. Gwenyth Paltrow did not fit her at all, I thought.
Plus, the way they played his mom was that she was warm and fuzzy to him as a young child, but then went bonkers. I got the impression from the book that she was not very warm to him at all, ever.
And also the warm and fuzzy/her giving him her life savings scenes between Augusten and Agnes in the movie were not in the book. She was much more of a confused little mouse in the book.
But from what I saw in the DVD bonus features, it seems that the makers of the film (the guy that does NipTuck) worked pretty closely wiht the author to make things "believable". So maybe some of those things actually did happen, just were not written in the book.

So, to sum it all up, while the characters were not authentic, and some of the book was changed for the movie, I still thought it was worth watching.
Dh had never read the book but liked the movie alot.

[PatchPixie]

Hmmm.. i haven't read the book - i thought the movie was interesting and darkly amusing. I actually thought Annette Benning was quite good! I do agree that some of the other roles were mis-cast, though.

[Phoenix_Rising]

A book club I am in for work read the book last year - we all loved it. Then we made the mistake of watching to movie together. There were so many things that didn't match up. Add in the bad acting and so many parts that got left out of the movie (what happened to the summer they lived on the lawn????) and we were all disappointed (sp?) by the movie.

[OakBerry]

Originally Posted by Susannah M

A book club I am in for work read the book last year - we all loved it. Then we made the mistake of watching to movie together. There were so many things that didn't match up. Add in the bad acting and so many parts that got left out of the movie (what happened to the summer they lived on the lawn????) and we were all disappointed (sp?) by the movie.

Yeah, I thought the living on the lawn part was one of the funniest parts of the book. And the part when Natalie didn't have any other clean clothes to wear so she wore her McDonald's uniform out.

[**Mia**]

so should I read the book before seeing the movie? I was thinking about renting it the other night, but sometimes I like to form my own images of the characters instead of being forced to recall an actor everytime I read a character.

[Kodachrome]

Originally Posted by **Mia**

so should I read the book before seeing the movie? I was thinking about renting it the other night, but sometimes I like to form my own images of the characters instead of being forced to recall an actor everytime I read a character.

I don't know. I mean, I know that I personally like to read the book before seeing a movie, but ... everyone is different.

The movie is pretty right on - even when it came down to the dialogue. Although the book (for me) gave me more of a visual, and of course, offered lots of detail to everything. The book definitely had me laughing much more.

It's a fast, easy read - all of his books actually are.... I say read the book first.

[Kodachrome]

Originally Posted by PatchPixie

I actually thought Annette Benning was quite good!

Me too - amazing.

Funny, because I read the book first, and visualized Paltrow playing the part -and was blown away to find she was actually cast when it (the movie) was in the production stages. Trip.

[Attila the Honey]

I really enjoyed both the book and the movie, and I was impressed to see how true to the book the film was apart from those weird little differences in the way they looked. I thought the acting was top notch.

It was really funny, in a very depressing sort of way.

[DoctorGirlfriend]

I just finished re-reading the book, as the movie is on my Netflix queue. What you all have said goes along with what I've heard...they pare down what happens in the book, and switch some of the antics around...but then, that happens with most adaptations, doesn't it?

And if you haven't already, read Augusten Burroughs' other memoirs...they're all great reads.

[mwherbs]

I heard some interviews on NPR and then saw the movie- and I really liked the movie- I felt that it was very fair to the people, not like any one person was just horrible or completely messed up- all twists and turns like people are. My sister is mentally ill and has lived with us for 12 years-- similarities ...

what I liked about the movie was that in the beginning when he was little it wasn't so obvious that she was crazy- as he gets older the craziness is perceived more-- and revealed more I think very typical of a child's experience .