The Sunday Magazine: Edward Scissorhands

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, The Sunday Magazine and tagged , , , , .
1

Those of you who read this column in previous Holiday seasons know I have a different idea at what makes a Holiday movie. I love the classics, but I also have a group of misfit toys which are odd stories that strike the right tone for the Season. One of those on my list is 1990’s Edward Scissorhands.

Edward Scissorhands was released in the Holiday season of 1990. Director Tim Burton was able to make this weird little story because of his success with the first “Batman” movie a year earlier. It falls in line with most of Mr. Burton’s eerie oeuvre. I watch it every year because it is a story of acceptance in the face of oddity.

Mr. Burton was able to fend off the studio wanting a bigger name actor to play the title role. He had already decided he wanted Johnny Depp. Mr. Depp was still in the part of his career where he was a regular on the TV show “21 Jump Street”. He was seen more as a pretty face not a serious actor. Mr. Burton had seen something others had not. He had to stand firm to keep his first choice. Thankfully he did. I can’t imagine any of the other actors; Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, or Gary Oldman, doing this role. There are many creative teams which get each other. It is true in filmmaking as it is in perfume. a shared vision leads to something special. That was the case with Mr. Burton and Mr. Depp.

The plot is pure Grimm’s Fairy Tale; the old unabridged kind. Edward Scissorhands is a creation of a scientist who dies before giving him hands. It leaves him with automaton hands of sharp objects. He is discovered by a young woman, Kim played by Winona Ryder, who rescues him from his solitary life; bringing him into her neighborhood. As Edward sees this world there are some savage digs at the cookie cutter nature of housing subdivisions. Mrs. C and I have called these kind of developments “Edwards Scissorhands Land” anytime we run into one. There is begrudging acceptance as Edward shows his skill with his bladed hands. He makes topiaries which serve to differentiate the identical homes. He uses his hands for other things which gather more fame to him engendering jealousy in others. Of course as in any fairy tale there is tragedy. By the end Edward is left to live the same solitary experience we found him in at the beginning. The difference is what he experienced gives him a new perspective. Now he makes ice sculptures with his hands. There is a beautiful bittersweet ending.

I love it because it is a story of finding the man within the outward monster with a wintry theme. If you want to join my goofy Holiday Movie Club queue up Edward Scissorhands.

–Mark Behnke

The Sunday Magazine: Stranger Things 2

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, The Sunday Magazine and tagged , , , , , , .
1

I’ve written a lot in this column about how much the right characters can make me overlook a lot of plotting flaws. If I enjoy the time I’m spending with the characters what’s an improbability or two? Like many who were big fans I watched Stranger Things when it was first released. The thing was I was more enthralled by the quilt of obvious 1980’s “inspirations” The Duffer Brothers were employing. It felt like I had watched a greatest hits of 1980’s genre movies by the time it was done. I enjoyed it but thought one season was going to be enough. I thought the characters had not connected over the nostalgia. After the New Year my Netflix queue was surprisingly clear. I thought I’d watch a couple of episodes; remind myself why I had checked out and be done. Nine hours later I sat there surprisingly satisfied.

It wasn’t because The Duffer Brothers stopped using the 1980’s as plot devices. I would say Stranger Things 2 was even more obvious in what they cribbed from. What hooked me were characters who I didn’t realize snuck up on me in the first season. They were given lots to do which kept me wanting to see what was next. I want to call out a few of them because the actors behind the characters did such a good job.

Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin

First is Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin. To get an idea of how charming he is you only must see him in the Verizon commercials extolling the virtues of FiOS. In 30-second clips the actor makes you smile and sells the service with that charisma. In Stranger Things 2 he is given the Gremlins sub-plot where he brings a strange creature home and as it grows things get out of hand. The other half of his story is his bond with the older high school boy, Steve. Dustin is from a one-parent home and Steve takes him under his wing. Mt. Matarazzo steps up and becomes the heart of the Stranger Things series.

Millie Bobbie Brown as Eleven

The soul is Millie Bobbie Brown who plays Eleven. A child who was experimented on to hone her telekinetic properties she escaped the government at the end of season one. Season 2 finds her in a safe place one which is explained over the first few episodes. Once she decides safety is less important than understanding who she is that propels her last half of season 2. Ms. Brown does all of this with an earnestness which had me rooting for her while also lamenting her leaving her safe place.

David Harbour as Chief Hopper

David Harbour plays Chief Hopper who is always caught in the middle as the weird ratchets up in his small Indiana town. In season 2 he is much more the linchpin which holds it all together. He has relationships to every other character in the cast. That allows Mr. Harbour to highlight that. From telling hard truths to the kids to making the adults understand the stakes. He admits his flaws while standing in front of the danger.

Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers

Finally, Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers the frazzled single mom who has her son being taken over by the monsters in both seasons. I have always thought highly of Ms. Ryder as an actress. In season 2 her fiercely protective mother has found some happiness, but those moments are fleeting in the Stranger Things universe. Ms. Ryder shows the joy and the pain in equal amounts sometimes within a few seconds of each other. She has a showcase where her talents are fully on display.

These four characters and the actors who play them made me realize how much I am enjoying Stranger Things for them and not the plot.

–Mark Behnke