Edward Scissorhands

Synopsis of Movie

The year after 1989's Batman, Tim Burton brought another lonely, black-clad brooder-of-few-words to the screen in this fantasy drama. The Caped Crusader was more brawn and stunty heroism, and young Edward Scissorhands (Johnny Depp) was a boyish innocent, both wanted to fit into the everyday worlds that fate had separated them from. Both spent too much time in big dark houses…wondering about the sunlight and the love and the levity just outside.

Assembled by a lonely inventor (Vincent Price) who just wanted a friend that he could impart his wisdom to, Edward watched his creator pass on right in front of him -- and right before he had a chance to give Edward a pair of human hands. Edward spends his long, lonely days sculpting hedges and nicking his face…until a scrappy Avon lady Peg Boggs (Dianne Wiest) wanders up to the late Inventor’s mansion, hoping to peddle a lipliner or two. Peg doesn’t make a sale, but when she meets poor Edward, her fix-everything, love-everyone instincts kick right in. The boy with the cutlery digits is coming home with her, and that, as it might say in the Avon handbook, is all there is to it.

Wandering through the Boggs household and admiring the family pictures, Edward might just have a shot at the family he wants. Of course, Peg’s daughter Kim (Winona Ryder, in long golden locks) sneers at first -- she’s a regular high-schooler in a regular suburbia, after all, and he’s different. And Kim’s not the only one. The local house fraus have a mean thing or two to say, and a mean look or two to throw, but Edward treads right through the disapproval, softly and quietly and only destroying one waterbed in his wake. The youngest Boggs, Kevin, brings Edward to his class’ show and tell…and there’s not a suburban madam out there who can’t sniff out a good, cheap haircut when it’s in her midst. So, Edward coifs hair and topiaries galore and any canine that’s lucky enough to trot by. The neighborhood doesn’t look so generic anymore, and Edward’s a block celebrity. Peg’s special astringent has soothed the cuts on his face, and her family, of which he’s now a part, has soothed his heart.

But this is a fairy tale, and sooner or later, fairy tales always make it hard on their outsiders. And sometimes they need bad guys and calamity to make their points and teach their lessons. Enter Kim’s boyfriend, Jim (the mock turtle-necked Michael Anthony Hall, who looks to have bench-pressed his way right out of the old John Hughes geek mold). Jim’s no fan of the pasty new guy. He’d have you believe that’s because he’s protective and chivalrous, but really -- he just knows his lady has fallen in love with someone else. And in high school or cardboard cutout suburbia, as in anywhere, that can drive a person mad.

The image of Kim twirling in the snow -- sweetly inclement weather that’s brought to the always-sunny suburbs by Edward’s fervent ice sculpture habit -- is a memorably romantic one. The aging Kim tells us in narration that she’s known to dance in the snow still. Tim Burton fans are certainly accustomed to scenic eye-candy, but not always to eye-drizzle. We have one thing going for us at least, and one advantage over this movie’s winning title character -- at least we don’t scratch ourselves when we wipe them away.

Movie Release History

1990 - Edward Scissorhands

Movie Sub Categories

live-action
sci-fi/fantasy
drama

Movie Studio

20th Century Fox

Cast

Edward Scissorhands   Johnny Depp
Kim Boggs   Winona Ryder
Peg Boggs   Dianne Wiest
Jim Anthony Michael Hall
Joyce Monroe   Kathy Baker
Kevin Boggs   Robert Oliveri
Helen Conchata Ferrell
Marge   Caroline Aaron
Officer Allen  Dick Anthony Williams
Esmeralda   O-Lan
The Inventor   Vincent Price
Bill Boggs   Alan Arkin
Tinka   Susan
Cissy   Linda Perri
Host - TV   John Davidson
George   Biff Yeager
Suzanne  Marti Greenberg
Max  Bryan Larkin
Denny  John McMahon
TV Newswoman  Victoria
Retired Man   Stuart Lancaster
Granddaughter  Gina Gallagher
Psychologist  Aaron Lustig
Loan Officer  Alan Fudge
Dishwasher Man  Steven Brill
Editor  Peter Palmer
Reporter  Marc Macaulay
Reporter   Carmen J. Alexander
Reporter   Brett
Beefy Man   Andrew B. Clark
Pink Girl   Kelli
Older Woman/TV  Linda Jean Hess
Young Woman/TV   Rosalyn Thomson
Red-Haired Woman/TV   Lee Ralls
Teenage Girl/TV   Eileen Meurer
Rich Widow/TV   Bea Albano
Blonde/TV   Donna Pieroni
Policeman  Ken DeVaul
Policeman   Michael Gaughan
Teenage Girl   Tricia Lloyd
Other Teen   Kathy Dombo
Police Sergeant   Rex Fox
Max's Mother  Sherry Ferguson
Little Girl on Bike  Tabetha Thomas

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