A good film that should have great

Rating: 7/10 (16 February 2000)

Ed Wood should have hit a home run but it didn't. It should have been so much better but it wasn't. That's not to say that ED Wood is a poor film, far from it but with a little better casting, it would have been near perfect. As it stands, the performances (and I use the term loosely) of Johnny Depp and Sarah Jessica Parker nearly ruin all that the film achieves. But let's look at the good. It was a very, very long time ago that someone who won an Oscar truly deserved it. Martin Landau deserved his Oscar for his incredible turn as Bela Lugosi. He was simply not playing a role in a film, he "was" Bela Lugosi. There are times that the makeup, cinematography and Landau's performance make you forget that that you are seeing Martin Landau. You are seeing him literally become the late horror star. Its one of the most remarkable feats in recent cinema history and truly deserving of the praise. It's an understatement to say Landau steals the film, he literally picks it up and carries it away with him. There is another stellar performance in the film, that of Patricia Arquete as Kathy. It's a warm, understated performance that was as deserving of an Oscar nomination as Landau's. Bill Murray is an always welcome presence and the casting of Jeffrey Jones as Criswell is pure brilliance. Those two always give their best no matter what film they appear in. Director Burton deserves much credit for his brave stance of filming the picture in Black and White, it simply would not have worked in color. Regretably, this descision is probably what killed the film at the box office but Burton truly showed he knew what he was doing. This is a movie that begged to shot that way and Burton delivered. Burton must also be given a major thumbs up for packing the movie with Ed Wood's real life hangers on in cameo roles as well as casting wrestling promoter Gene LaBell and exotic pianist Korla Pandit in small but noticeable parts. And lets' face it, who else could have played Tor Johnson but George Steele?
All in all the film would rank a solid 10 if it wasn't for the participation of Depp and Parker. Why is Tim Burton so enamored with this Johnny Depp? He has proven time and time again that he simply cannot act and in Ed Wood, he cannot act with a vengeance. Watch for his scenes near the end, instead of projecting wide eyed wonder as was called for, he projects the image of a madman about to go on a killing spree. A truly poor performance that almost ruins the film. Nearly as bad is Sarah Jessica Parker. Some see her as a very talented actress. I see her as a scenery chewing hack who is a major eye sore. And we can't forget that Burton's girlfriend Lisa Marie plays Vampira. A note to perspective and veteran directors, do not, under any circumstance cast your girlfriends in your movies. Marie is laughably bad. Martin Landau's fetching daughter, Juliet (who plays Loretta King) would have been a far more inspired choice for the role.
Make no mistake, Ed Wood is a good film but with some better casting in two of it's major roles, it could have been so much better. Still if you are a fan of the cross dressing director, you need to see this film. It certainly wasn't deserving of it's poor box office run Johnny Depp or not.