Indeed, Tim Burton's affectionate biopic of Wood (Johnny Depp) paints a portrait of a man deluded into thinking he is talented. He surrounds himself with a motley crew of actors and hangers-on, and consequently makes some of the worst films of all time. In Burton's view of the man, Wood was not a schlockmeister like Roger Corman (who, ironically, eventually turned into a capable filmmaker), but a man who thought he was the new Orson Welles. In a memorable (and fictitious) scene, Welles (Vincent D'Onofrio, voice dubbed by Maurice La Marche) and Wood meet in a bar and share notes. Adding to the absurdity, Welles does not seem to notice that the mustachioed Wood is wearing a skirt.
Oh, yes, the tranvestitism. If the movie were entirely fictitious, the fact that Wood liked to dress in women's clothing would be entirely over the top. In this film, however, it just adds another bizarre tangent to established facts. Like Lou Jacobi in Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (but were afraid to ask), the only fun this film makes of Wood's proclivities is how ridiculous he looks. He is not made out to be a potential molester or serial killer like cross-dressers in so many other films.
The casting is marvelous here. Depp may be a bit too brightly-voiced in the title role, but his innamorate, played respectively by Sarah Jessica Parker and Patricia Arquette bring just the right amount of traditional dumb blonde to their roles. Bill Murray is cast against type a an aging, flaming queen, while Jeffrey Jones does his millionth terrific performance as the smarmy psychic Criswell. G.D. Spradlin, whom you'll remember as the creepy senator from The Godfather Part II plays a creepy Baptist minister. Playing figures the viewer might recognize are wrestler George "The Animal" Steele as Tor Johnson, Lisa Marie as Vampira, and of course, Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi. Landau won the supporting Oscar for his role, and even though his competition included Samuel L. Jackson's turn in Pulp Fiction, I feel Landau deserves his award. He creates a sympathetic, pathetic figure who develops a fatherly affection towards Wood. His performance is both moving and funny: one of the best film performances of the decade.
Tim Burton has made some of the most off-beat films of the last 10+ years, and even though neither supernatural nor fantastic elements come into play here, unlike all his other movies, it still seems to engage his sense of the bizarre. In my opinion, this is Burton's finest film, approached in quality only by Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.
Copyright 1997 by Dale G. Abersold
