ED WOOD
A film review by Jeffrey Graebner
Copyright 1994 Jeffrey Graebner
One of the most unusual aspects of the film industry is the fondness that some people feel for some of the worst that the industry has to offer. That aspect is most vividly demonstrated by the cult following of the amazingly inept films written and directed by Edward Wood Jr. Ironically, director Tim Burton tells Wood's story in one of the best films of 1994.
Burton's film, which is simply titled ED WOOD, is centered around the friendship between Wood (Johnny Depp) and an aging, washed-up Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau). The film also follows the making of Wood's three most legendary films: GLEN OR GLENDA?, BRIDE OF THE MONSTER, and PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. In the process, we are introduced to many of the bizarre individuals who populated Wood's films and his life. Among the people we meet are Swedish wrestler Tor Johnson (George "The Animal" Steele), would-be transsexual Bunny Breckinridge (Bill Murray), phony psychic Criswell (Jeffrey Jones), and TV horror movie hostess Vampira (Lisa Marie).
If these characters had been created for a fictional film, nobody ever would have believed them. This movie is mostly non-fiction, though, and we are therefore more inclined to accept them. Screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski have wisely written most of the film as a comedy, recognizing that it is difficult to take these people too seriously. This is a *very* funny movie, but the comedy never seems mean-spirited. Burton and the writers allow the humor to build naturally. A lot of inherent humor comes out of the image of a cross-dressing film director shooting ineptly conceived scenes with a bizarre cast of non-actors. There is no need to artificially create humor through put-downs and this script is smart enough to know that.
At the heart of the film is the surprisingly touching relationship that builds between Ed Wood and Bela Lugosi. When Wood meets Lugosi, he is a bitter, dying old man who is hopelessly addicted to morphine. He is flattered by the fact that Wood still remembers, and even admires him. Lugosi is able to use his faded stardom to provide Wood with a small link to legitimacy while Wood allows him to live out his final days as a working actor. Depp and Landau play very well together and really make this relationship work.
Johnny Depp first demonstrated some skill as an actor in Burton's EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and Burton gets another strong performance out of him here. Some may feel that Depp goes over the top a bit with this performance, but how else could Ed Wood be played? Depp plays Wood as a man who is totally committed to his art, while also being mostly unaware of his lack of talent. The script places quite a bit of emphasis on Wood's admiration for Orson Welles. In his own strange way, Wood is simply emulating his idol. Depp's performance successfully captures the dedication that separates Wood's films from most other bad movies. It is hard not to feel some affection towards his films simply because of their utter *sincerity*. When Wood shouts "Cut! That was *perfect*!" at the end of every lousy take, you truly believe that he means it.
Martin Landau's performance as Bela Lugosi is so right on the mark that the Academy should go ahead and engrave his name on the Best Supporting Actor award statue now. Landau manages to sound, behave, and even look (with a little help from Rick Baker's makeup effects) like the real Lugosi. His performance is much more than just an impersonation, though. He plays Lugosi as a sad, proud man who simply wants to get back into the limelight that he once knew. It is an outstanding performance.
Wood is not portrayed as a saint, by any means. He is willing to do whatever it takes to get his films made. He is very quick to agree to casting people in his films if they are willing to put up money. His GLEN OR GLENDA? co-star and girlfriend Dolores Fuller (Sarah Jessica Parker) eventually leaves him after she is replaced for the lead role in BRIDE OF THE MONSTER by another actress who helps with financing. Her willingness to still appear in a tiny role in the film shows the unusual loyalty that Wood inspired, though.
The film is full of other strong supporting performances. Each of the actors playing the members of Wood's regular acting company are very convincing. Bill Murray is the most familiar face in the cast and it is sometimes a bit difficult to see Bunny Breckinridge instead of Bill Murray, but he is still very appealing and generates a lot of laughs. Parker believably portrays Fuller's uncertain loyalties and Patricia Arquette does her best in a rather thankless role as the future Mrs. Ed Wood.
Like all of Tim Burton's films, the production design and style plays a very major role in ED WOOD. Burton selected to shoot this film in black and white and lights the movie to largely match the look of Ed Wood's own films. Howard Shore's score also does a nice job of duplicating the music commonly used in that era, although there were a few occasions where it sounded a bit like Shore was borrowing the style of Burton's usual collaborator Danny Elfman.
ED WOOD is a loving tribute to one of the strangest filmmakers in the history of Hollywood. It is one of the funniest movies in recent memory, while never letting the laughs get in the way of telling the story of the unique friendship between Wood and Lugosi. This is one of the best films ever made about filmmaking and one of the best movies of 1994.
-- Jeffrey P. Graebner Columbus, Ohio
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