Ed Wood: You May Have Missed It

Ed Wood is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's easy to gush over it. It's funny, surprising, and giddy with inspiration. Since I watched Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides this past weekend, it brought this old Johnny Depp gem to mind.

Just start with the cast: Johnny Depp, Bill Murray, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Martin Landau (in an Oscar winning performance.) Throw in Tim Burton as the director, and you've got a winner.

Ed Wood is based on the true story of legendary horrible Hollywood movie director Ed Wood, Jr. His ambition far outweighed his wit, and his struggles to "make it" are simply hilarious. Ed Wood is hilarious, but it also has a heart. Ed befriended washed up movie icon Bela Lugosi (played incredibly by Martin Landau), and their relationship is truly touching. Ed is hoping Bela can boost his struggling directing career. And, Bela is reluctantly glad to have friends again. It's a story of acceptance, and eccentric bands of friends who stick with each other. It's the story of a man who wanted to overcome such gigantic and impossible adversity to be successful in Hollywood that it is actually hilarious that he would even try. Ed Wood is a loser. But, we (kind of) love him that way.

Acting

Johnny Depp's performance as Ed Wood is daring, boisterous, and eager. The energy of his performance as Ed Wood (coupled with excellent-paced editing) manages to carry the whole movie. It's easy to see how Depp and Burton forged their working career that is so famous now because Depp's style and Burton's style are so obviously compatible in this movie. Prior to Ed Wood, they had only made Edward Scissorhands together. It's astonishing to note that Depp's performance as Ed Wood is the antithesis of Edward Scissorhands. Whereas Scissorhands was reserved, introverted, quiet, and deep, Wood is shallow, loud, prideful, and dim-witted. It's incredible that Johnny Depp, who I presume is not like either character, played both so well.

Martin Landau turns out the performance of a lifetime as washed up movie star Bela Lugosi. His mannerisms, voice, face, movements, attitude, accent, even his very embodiment, is wholly of another person. You will not see Martin Landau in this movie. You will see Bela Lugosi.

Directing

Ed Wood is a demonstration of Tim Burton's best work. Quirky, creative, passionate, and above all, excellent. He chose to make Ed Wood in black and white, which was probably a controversial choice at the time. Looking back, however, it is the perfect homage to the director Ed Wood. The black and white effect totally captures the essence of the Ed Wood universe. It seems as if Ed Wood lived in a black and white universe, totally shaped by his passion for Hollywood monster movies. Tim Burton also demonstrates through Ed Wood how quality editing can make or break a movie. Unlike Ed Wood's old movies (which are hardly tolerable to sit through), Tim Burton's Ed Wood is very well edited. It moves along, unraveling each step of the story at a graceful pace.

Overall

It seems to me that if Ed Wood came out in 2011, with the same cast and crew, it would probably be nominated for a slew of Oscars. As it stands, though, it was before the time when Johnny Depp was fully acknowledged by Hollywood for the depth of his acting talent. Ed Wood is Tim Burton's affectionate and brilliant homage to the phase of blythe innocence of drive-in culture in America in the 50's. Every friend that I have forced to watch Ed Wood has enjoyed and appreciated it beyond their original expectations. So, I beg you: if you missed Ed Wood the first time around, and you are a Johnny Depp fan, do yourself a favor and watch it.

Ed Wood is rated R for foul language (coming from a bitter Bela Lugosi), and candid talk about quirky sexual behavior of Ed Wood. So, it's not really for kids.

my rating: 5 out of 5