Frankenstein meets The Cure in Tim Burton's masterpiece about the social obstacles in front of orphans with prosthetic limbs.

Rating: 10/10 (6 November 2013)

SPOILERS - Diane Weiss plays Peg, a woman who one day enters a creepy hilltop mansion yelling "Avon calling"... umm, more like "woman intruding!" Diane enters a room in bad need of roof repair. That's when we're introduced to Ed, a creepy looking dark dweller with black hair, white skin and scars on his face. But this guy isn't as Emo as he looks. Well, come to think of it, he actually does look kind of depressed. What I mean is, despite the scars on his face, he doesn't cut himself on purpose. Edward is an orphan who has yet to discover the aphrodisiacal quality of ambrosia salad and Diane with her motherly instincts, decides it's time to introduce Ed to mediocre middle classdom. At first, things seem hopeful. Wynona Ryder appears as a bodacious blonde after living under a black cloud in Beetlejuice and becomes Eddie's snow queen if only for a few beautiful seconds. But suburban life ultimately proves difficult for Scissorstein. Peas are less than easy peasy, lemonade is as sour as Anthony Michael Hall's jealousy and the line between happy hair cut and happy ending becomes blurred. He also wets the bed.

Ed bares a slight resemblance to that other black haired, white faced man of mystery, especially if you look at the album cover of Bad. While the similarities to Michael Jackson might seem superficial, they are in fact significant for the fact that he experiences a similar plight to that of Jacko's own fall from grace. Society's reaction to Ed will go from adoration and fascination to fear and paranoia faster than you can say poodle do. After initially accepting Ed and his talents, the white bread burbies become weirded out by him. That's when Ed is faced with the question of moonwalking out of Dodge or staying and being the neighborhood hedge/dog groomer.
When you sit down to watch this film and you see that it's set in cookie cutter suburbia, you might think this is a warm and fuzzy fable. Then Johnny Depp emerges from the shadows as a leathery lad with a puckery pale face and Robert Smith's hairdo. Naturally, this makes for a more complex tale. And while it may not be warm and fuzzy, it is definitely warm-hearted. Don't be fooled by the sharp fingers, Edward Scissorhands will touch your heart without cutting it.