"I Even Fought in W.W.2, of Course, I Was Wearing Women's Undergarments Under My Uniform": ED WOOD

Horror movies have a low success rate, so much depends on timing and luck, and a large helping of talent doesn't hurt.  On the other hand, with a total lack of talent, you can get something really special.  But even hacks can have dreams and passions, and Americans love an underdog (Michael Bay and Brett Ratner are not underdogs- they're just awful), so Edward Wood, Jr., maker of such wonderful cinematic travesties as GLEN OR GLENDA, ORGY OF THE DEAD and PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, was basically the embodiment of the American Dream.

ED WOOD  (COMEDY/BIOPIC, 1994) 
Directed by Tim Burton
Starring: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, Lisa Marie, Bill Murray, G.D. Spradlin, Mike Starr, Vincent D'Onofrio
Rated R for some strong language.
SCAREmeter: 1.5/10 (scares aren't the point)
GOREmeter: 1.5/10 (some needle marks, I guess)
LAUGHmeter: 7/10
OVERALL: 4/4 

Tim Burton is one of the most recognizable names working behind-the-scenes in film today, but opinions on his more recent work has been decidedly divided.  His last two films, DARK SHADOWS and FRANKENWEENIE, both released in 2012, were attempts to return to his early years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when his quirky, dark comedies with supernatural themes excited audiences with their originality and imaginative visuals.  Films like PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE (1985), BEETLEJUICE (1988), BATMAN (1989) and EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990) were critically-acclaimed box office hits, making Burton one of the most sought-after filmmakers in Hollywood.  DARK SHADOWS was panned by critics and flopped at the box office, and FRANKENWEENIE, a remake of a 1984 short film Burton made in his days at Disney, met with modestly positive reviews and a weak box office performance.
But in 1994, Burton showed how he could have matured into a more sophisticated talent, had he followed in the direction he proved himself capable of going in at that time.  A moderately-budgeted biopic, filmed in black-and-white, and Burton's first R-rated film; a departure from his largely youth-oriented films of before.
ED WOOD is based on the life of Edward D. Wood, Jr., an independent filmmaker who gained notoriety in the 1980s after his 1959 film PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE was declared the "worst movie ever made" and developed a cult status.  Opening in 1952, Ed Wood is an aspiring filmmaker filled with optimism, but no one will give him a chance.  Living with his girlfriend, actress Dolores Fuller (Sarah Jessica Parker), whose clothes he wears in secret as a transvestite, Wood directs poorly-reviewed plays in his spare time while working in the props department of a film studio.  His life is changed by a chance encounter with Bela Lugosi, the former A-list horror star best known as Dracula in the classic Universal Monsters films.  Wood befriends Lugosi, who has fallen into obscurity and become addicted to morphine and methadone in his depression and poverty, offering him work, and allowing Wood to sell his projects on whatever star-power Lugosi has left.  The film follows Wood through the productions of his three most famous films; the LGBT exploitation drama GLEN OR GLENDA, the sci-fi horror BRIDE OF THE MONSTER, and the sci-fi thriller PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE.  Through the making of these films, Wood assembles a troupe of outcasts and misfits, while struggling to finance his films and dealing with financiers who want to impose their own influence on his films.

Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi and Johnny Depp as Ed Wood, Jr.

ED WOOD marked Burton's second collaboration with his most famous collaborator, Johnny Depp, following EDWARD SCISSORHANDS in 1990.  Depp was best known for quirky, sullen roles, first appearing in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984),  as well as in John Waters' musical CRY-BABY (1990) and WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE (1993), but as Ed Wood, Depp made the film auteur, who in life suffered from depression and alcoholism into a hilariously, blindly optimistic man, partially inspired by the Tin Man in THE WIZARD OF OZ and Ronald Reagan.  There's a very amusing contrast set between Wood, a man who would be posthumously declared "The Worst Director of All Time," and Orson Welles, the director of CITIZEN KANE, widely considered one of the greatest films ever made.  Ed bemoans that as he's approaching 30, Welles directed CITIZEN KANE by age 26, and like his idol, Ed writes, produces, directs and stars in his own films.
The obvious standout role is of Bela Lugosi, performed by Martin Landau.  Lugosi, although having fallen into obscurity by that time in his life, was a very theatrical man with well known mannerisms and intonations, and Landau becomes the role.  Of course, he's well-assisted by prosthetic makeup designed by legendary makeup artist Rick Baker, who petitioned for the role as soon as he caught wind of it, having been a lifelong fan of Lugosi.  Both Landau and Baker won richly deserved Academy Awards for their work on ED WOOD, Best Supporting Actor and Best Makeup, respectively.
Like practically every biographical film, people familiar with the subjects have expressed beefs with specifics of the treatment, especially involving Sarah Jessica Parker as Dolores Fuller, Wood's girlfriend who co-starred with him in GLEN OR GLENDA.  Seeing as she wasn't the last great love of his life, separating from him over his alcohol abuse and/or cross-dressing, depending on her conflicting interviews, she comes off in the film looking a little shrewish (a similar fate befell the character of Vivian Liberto, played by Ginnifer Goodwin, in WALK THE LINE).  The real-life Fuller disagreed with the portrayal of herself when she saw the film, but praised the film as a whole, particularly Depp's performance and Burton's direction.  Anyway, she wound up better off, having gone on to become a successful songwriter for the likes of Elvis Presley, Nat King Cole and Peggy Lee.  There has also been dispute over the relationship between Wood and Lugosi, whether it was indeed the close friendship as depicted in the film, or something more exploitative on Wood's part, taking advantage of the washed-up star in his last days.  ED WOOD makes no secret though that it isn't meant to be a totally authentic portrayal.
ED WOOD is an immensely nice film, like a big, fat, warm hug, telling the story of artists who were ridiculed and marginalized in their time, and their work may not even be good by today's standards either, but they're shown caring about what they do.  While Ed's girlfriend derides his casting of a financier's son in BRIDE OF THE MONSTER, he defiantly remarks, "The important thing is that the film is getting made."  Who cares if your good at what you're doing if you love doing it?  Honestly, there may be more to it than that in real life, but sometimes you need that kind of escapism.

Left to right: Bill Murray as Bunny Breckinridge, Sarah Jessica Parker as Dolores Fuller, and Johnny Depp as Edward Wood, Jr.