"Cut, print, we're moving on; that was perfect"

Rating: 10/10 (15 April 2010)

What a delight! Dreamlike in tone, "Ed Wood" lovingly imparts to viewers the humorously delusional world of 1950s bad-film artiste Edward D. Wood, Jr. (Johnny Depp), creator of legendary bad films, most notably "Plan 9 From Outer Space". Part of the film's charm is how it portrays Wood, gushing with uncalled-for enthusiasm and optimism. Depp's facial expressions are priceless; that glib smile, those bugged-out eyes, the raised eyebrows, all enhanced by exaggerated makeup.
But no amount of incompetence can deny Wood's passion for making films. With a big megaphone to call out commands to his actors, Wood is like a ten-year-old boy, thoughtless of the finished product; he just wants to play movie director.
Wood surrounds himself with a motley crew of Hollywood misfits, including most especially washed-up "Dracula" actor Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau), whose relationship with Wood propels most of the film's plot. But there are other, equally eccentric, people drawn to Wood, the most interesting being Bunny Breckinridge (a surprisingly good performance by Bill Murray), Vampira (Lisa Marie), and Criswell (Jeffrey Jones), that otherworldly seer of the future. The misfit label applies to Wood too, of course, who directs his actors, dressed in women's clothes, seemingly oblivious to the managerial discordance of such attire.
The script's characters and the film's high-contrast B&W lighting combine to portray Hollywood as a comically nightmarish place of delusional unreality. Simple sets mirror the cheapness in Wood's world. And that bongo-laced score with accompanying Theremin and crashing symbols is almost hypnotic.
Acting is way, way above average. Depp is absolutely terrific. And so is Landau. I can't think of any weak performances. My only problem with this film is that the plot gives a tad too much attention to Lugosi.
That Wood was anointed as the "worst director of all time" seems a bit cruel. At least he had heart and soul. Yet one cannot deny the unintended humor in his films.
Wonderfully nostalgic, "Ed Wood" reflects back to another era in film-making, when thinking big, self-assurance, and nerve were all a young man needed to make his Hollywood dreams come true, no matter how untalented.