- Tim Burton has always been the non-conformist filmmaker everyone can agree on. His films are strange and quirky, but you don't have to worry about walking out of the theater feeling too disturbed. David Lynch he ain't. So how does a film like Edward Scissorhands hold up 20 years after its release, now that we've grown accustomed to Burton's oxymoronic "predictable oddness"? It is, after all, a movie about a guy with scissors for hands, which is hardly an obvious recipe for success. Surprisingly, the answer is that it holds up pretty well.
- Much of Edward Scissorhands' success is attributable to the film's brilliant set design, which paints with equal enthusiasm the blandness of mid-20th century suburbia and the overgrown Gothic eccentricity of an uncommon inventor's nearby castle. It is precisely these two worlds that collide at the film's start when an optimistic Avon lady named Peg (Dianne Wiest) marches up the castle's winding staircase to ply her wares. But, as we discover in a poignant flashback, the castle's aloof old occupant (Vincent Price) passed away before completing his greatest work, an artificial human named Edward (Johnny Depp). No mere automaton, gentle Edward has been granted a heart capable of real feelings, even if his pale, scarred countenance and bladed hands make for an awkward first impression. Feeling sorry for such a shy and helpless creature, Peg takes it upon herself to civilize Edward by bringing him home to meet the nuclear family. Before long, the town's entire population of gossipy housewives is lined up outside Peg's door, hoping to catch a glimpse of the most original and fascinating man in town.
- The film's middle third plays Edward's personality and situation for laughs, mostly to good effect. After all, there is something genuinely funny about the idea of a scissor-handed man sleeping on a waterbed or starting an outdoor canine grooming service. Seriousness creeps in, however, as Edward falls in love with Peg's daughter Kim (Winona Ryder), much to the chagrin of Kim's thuggish boyfriend Jim (Anthony Michael Hall). Or rather, I should say that Edward is in LOVE and Jim is a JERK, since their raging teenage emotions are presented as though they were scripted in capital letters. Simultaneously, the town's love affair with Edward abruptly reverses course as a local vamp named Joyce (Kathy Baker) proves that hell hath no fury like a housewife scorned. Any time a film features an angry mob, a pariah, and a castle, you don't need to be a fan of monster movies to guess what happens next.
- While Edward Scissorhands admittedly lapses into the occasional cliche, the film's otherwise boundless creativity and genuine heart still manage to impress. Danny Elfman's haunting yet exhilarating film score is a perfect match to Burton's visual style, further cementing their collaboration as one of cinema's best director/composer pairings. It's also difficult to imagine a better casting combination than Dianne Wiest and Alan Arkin, the latter of whom plays the delightfully oblivious husband. As mentioned, the set designs are simply spectacular, and the towering tree and ice sculptures probably form the film's most lasting images. Simultaneously grotesque and wonderful, they remind us a bit of Edward himself.
- This was Vincent Price's final onscreen role.
