Ed Wood

"Plan 9 From Outer Space" is infamous as a bad movie, and it is often called the worst movie of all time. Now I really disagree. I didn't have a hard time watching it; I love watching it just because of how bad it is! It definitely entertains me. It's so bad it's good. I would much rather watch "Plan 9" than some movies that are out there, which are just plain painful to watch. It's good for a nice laugh. But I didn't just laugh. I was intrigued. I was intrigued at the idea of this. How could a man direct a movie like this and not realize that it's terrible? How could he be so blind that he doesn't know that the continuity problems, terrible acting, ridiculous special effects, and laughable concept don't exist?

Edward D. Wood gained cult status long after his death when "Plan 9" was named the worst movie of all time, and Wood the worst director. People loved him and saw him as an inspiration for some reason, and now I can see why that is.

Tim Burton made a movie in 1994 that was simply titled "Ed Wood". It was the true story of an eccentric director who followed his passion despite all of the problems he faced. Tim Burton himself has said many times that Edward Wood is a huge inspiration to him, and Burton looks at Wood with sympathy and recognition. The first thing I thought of when I heard about the movie "Ed Wood" was, "What's there to make a movie about? He's a bad director and he made a bad movie. What else is there?" But the second thing I thought was that Tim Burton is an amazing director, and therefore he should be good at picking out another great director.

What makes Burton's films grab the attention of people like me is that they all have one common theme: an outcast. Whether it's Batman, Edward Scissorhands, or even Pee Wee Herman, most of them deal with a person who thinks, acts, or feels different from everybody else and can't fit in with society. I think Tim Burton can relate to these characters as he is an eccentric person too, as I can be. So I watched "Ed Wood" hoping that it would be a good addition to this collection of misfits.

So how was the movie? In a word: amazing. It was simply amazing. I can't believe how great it was. I would have never guessed that the director of such a goofy movie ("Plan 9") could have such a compelling and inspirational life story. Now I realize that a lot of the character may be fictional in order to add feeling to the movie, but it's mainly based on reality.

The movie stars Johnny Depp in possibly his best role ever, as Ed Wood. Ed is struggling to get his movies made and has to make deals with second-rate companies who don't care about making good films. As Ed makes more and more films, he gains more and more creative control over them. I think Depp absolutely nailed the character, because he is so interesting to watch. He speaks fluently and in a way that's almost comically artificial, like a 50's business man.

Just like the real man, this Ed Wood is overly optimistic about every movie he makes no matter how low the budget is or how terrible the odds are. Every single time he is seen shooting a scene in a movie, he shoots it once and says, "That was perfect!" despite it being an obviously bad take. People working with him keep questioning his filmmaking abilities, as Ed dismisses them all, believing what he is making will "be seen by millions and touch the world".

Ed is a very eccentric person for many reasons, the most obvious of them being that he likes wearing women's clothing, though he's quick to point out that he's heterosexual afterwards. The film follows his making of his three most well-known films: "Glen or Glenda," "Bride of the Monster," and of course, "Plan 9 From Outer Space".

If you don't think anything in this movie can top Depp's acting, you obviously haven't taken a glance at Martin Landau's stunning performance as Bela Lugosi (the actor of Dracula, and an actor in many Ed Wood films). It was captivating the whole way through, and Landau definitely did the great actor he's portraying justice. His Hungarian accent is absolutely spot-on, his character is so interesting to watch, and he performed many emotional scenes based on Lugosi's use of illegal substances. Which one is the most haunting? Is it the one where he is in the hospital, strapped to a chair, screaming? How about the part where he recites the line, "Home? I have no home!... I will build a race of human beings, and I will use them to take over the world!" with amazing feeling and depth, as if he was under the influence when he recited that cryptic Ed Wood line? Or even the scene in which he attempts suicide? No, I have to settle for one that most people probably don't remember: the scene where Lugosi is fresh off of injecting himself with morphine and drinking a bottle of whiskey, and he has to act like he's being strangled by a fake rubber octopus that didn't move at all. I don't know about anybody else, but that part was so haunting. For at least 15 or 20 seconds, he flails around in the arms of the octopus, screaming so intensely and hauntingly, as if the drugs are actually making him insane. That had to be the most memorable part of the movie.

As the movie progresses, Wood and Lugosi build a great relationship together as director and actor, and Depp's and Lugosi's acting just compliments the other's. The movie offers us new, fictional details about how the movies really came about. For example, there is one scene where Wood is telling Lugosi about his role in "Glen or Glenda", which is to be "a kind of god-like character. You know, a puppet master?" to which Lugosi enthusiastically replied, "Ah yes, I pull the strings!" And thus, the "Pull the strings!" dialogue from the beginning of "Glen or Glenda" is conceptualized.

The entire movie is filmed in black and white, which looks great. It is also filled with inside-jokes about the Edward Wood movies. There's all kinds of clever humor as well, including one scene where Wood shows a man two shirts of different colors and asks how they are, and the man replies that he's color-blind and can't tell what color they are. Just like us!

What's important about "Ed Wood" is that you can feel the whole movie. You can feel the pressure Wood is under when he's making these movies. His wife leaves him because of his terrible movies and his cross-dressing, Lugosi dies, Wood becomes broke, a group of religious people try to take control of his movies' direction; everything basically becomes overwhelming for him. But what matters to him most is that he does what he's passionate about: he finishes his films, despite impossible odds (and budgets). By the time he's making "Plan 9," the movie he considers his pride and joy, the audience is already in love with the character and the actual man. If the audience wasn't, I know I was.

What it all comes down to is this: Edward Wood was an artist, like me. He didn't make his movies for money or fame. He made them for the sake of making them. It was his passion. It was his life. And thus, both the man's life and this movie teach what's probably the most important lesson of all: that passion is the key to life. You have to be passionate about what you do in life, and for Ed Wood, his passion was making movies. And for following his one passion, I salute Edward D. Wood.

It is an inspirational story for absolutely anybody. I mean, absolutely anybody age 17 and up; it's rated R. So if you're 17 or up, or you think you can handle the language, go watch. And while you're at it, watch some "Plan 9" too. You'll laugh. Five stars.

-Derek