Edward Scissorhands, Review

Edward Scissorhands

1990, * * *, Fantasy

Starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, and Vincent Price.

Edward Scissorhands is brought into the world by an imaginative inventor, who tragically passes away and leaves Edward to fend for himself.

Edward Scissorhands, played by Johnny Depp ("Corpse Bride," "Pirates of the Caribbean") is created by The Inventor, played by the Master of Horror himself, Vincent Price. Edward soon finds himself alone in an enormously gothic mansion surrounded by a "Disneyland-ish" topiary garden that he creates with his "Scissorhands."

Peg, played by Dianne West ("I Am Sam," "The Birdcage"), is an Avon lady who wanders up to the mansion and brings Edward back to her own house, which lies in the surreal, too-perfect neighborhood next to his mansion and is made up of look-a-like, pastel-colored homes.

Peg's daughter, Kim, played by Winona Ryder ("Girl, Interrupted," "Little Women"), is the character with morals who sees Edward in a different light-as a real person, not a gardening tool. She isn't the slightest bit like her obnoxious mother and neighbors. She plays her typical role of rebel-with-a-cause. She provides a constant source of sanity to counteract all the insane weirdness that is going on.

This film captures the essence of all Tim Burton movies: a surreal environment that provides the viewer with a moral foundation in a freakish setting (think "Mars Attacks," "Corpse Bride," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"). He depicts a creepy "perfect" little world like in Nicole Kidman's ("The Interpreter", "Bewitched") movie "The Stepford Wives." He shows how so-called "perfections" in life aren't as perfect as they seem to be, and the odd and strange can actually be positive.

This is definitely a touching movie that will leave you wondering how real a fairy tale can be.