Ed Wood if He Could....and He Did

Rating: 10/10 (3 December 2017)

As someone who has watched movies ever since he was a little kid, I've seen my fair share of good ones, bad ones, and mediocre ones. However, no matter how the movie turns out, I never forget that at the end of the day, almost if not all film directors put their best foot forward on movies trying to make ends meet with art. The exact same thing can be said about Edward D. Wood Jr., the man infamously known as the Worst Director in history, as he made movies cheap and fast resulting in films in laughably dubious quality like Glen or Glenda, Bride of the Monster, and of course, Plan 9 from Outer Space...but as incompetent as he was, he made these films out of earnest intention because he had such a passion for filmmaking, and who better to tackle the project of an eccentric weirdo who had such a passion for film than another eccentric weirdo who made his own weird albeit earnest and passionate films than Tim Burton.
What could have easily been a straight up mockery of the filmmaker ends up being a love letter to the man, as Burton clearly understands how hard it is to get a film made, thus sympathizing with the director through trial and error. What gives Wood a spark of light in the feature is that he is so optimistic and positive about the filmmaking experience and his own movies that he did whatever it took, from hiring his friends as actors, to getting washed up star Bela Lugosi in his films, to stealing props, to getting funding from a Baptist church. Sure a lot of this seems nuts, but keep in mind many other filmmakers have done crazy things to get their films made too (look up how Apocalypse Now and Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs were made), and while Wood may have been in the wrong, his unbelievably passionate drive to making the greatest films ever made really is worth the price of viewing.
As for other technicalities, the acting is phenomenal, from Johnny Depp capturing Mr. Wood's upbeat and eccentric mannerisms, to Sarah Jessica Parker presenting his former girlfriend Dolores Fuller as motivating at first and then embarrassed by Ed's transvestism (the inspiration for Glen or Glenda), to Patricia Arquette as Ed's second girlfriend Kathy O'Hara presenting as sweet and accepting to Wood's transvestism, to Jeffrey Jones bringing the weird albeit earnest psychic Criswell to life, to Lisa Marie as the stern fatale Vampire, and even George Steele as the bulky unintelligible albeit sweet wrestler Tor Johnson. But the real scene stealer is Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, who rightfully earned his Oscar for bringing to life this iconic horror movie actor to screen with his erratic behavior, heartbroken nature, and gentleness to Ed Wood that gives him a soft spot making one sympathize with the poor old man. Oh, and Bill Murray as the lovable homosexual Bunny Breckinridge? GENIUS!
The film made the right decision in not only shooting it in black & white, but by also on occasion using real stock music to create the right mood for the 1950s, almost like a time capsule. Admittedly, the movie is not 100% accurate to Ed Wood's life, but it still elevates Wood's goal to keep pushing forward through all hardships. Tim Burton even explained, "In doing a biopic you can't help but get inside the person's spirit a little bit, so for me, some of the film is trying to be through Ed a little bit. So it's got an overly optimistic quality to it." Besides, its a movie first, and a biopic second (like Amadeus), don't except everything to click authentically.
In conclusion, Ed Wood is not only my favorite film from Tim Burton, but one of my all time favorites for its wonderful intent that filmmakers always try to make the greatest films ever (even if studios may disagree with their visions), the fantastic cinematography and editing, the marvelous acting, the witty humor, and just about everything else. There is a reason I never judge a movie until I see it, and that's because I don't know something unless I actually view it. Sure I may assume it could be bad, but I don't know it is until I give it the time of day to fully analyze it. If I didn't, then I would not have seen movies I love with all my heart like La La Land, The Lego Movie, Zootopia, and especially this film. That, and even if their films end up poor, filmmakers will always put their best foot forward and I respect them for that every time they try to make a motion picture. As Orson Welles in this film said it best, "Visions are worth fighting for, why spend your life making someone else's dreams?"