Romantic, idealistic schmaltz by any other name

Orson Welles [to Ed Wood]: “Visions are worth fighting for. Why spend your life making someone else’s dreams?”

Ed Wood, the movie, is an homage to two quirky, dedicated idealists of the silver screen, the director Ed Wood (Johnny Depp) and the actor Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau). It seems to set up as a comedy initially, as we watch producer-writer-director-actor Ed learning the ropes of Hollywood —he’s the epitome of the independent filmmaker, operating on a wing and a prayer—and struggling to make ends meet. Right off the bat we learn Wood has a fetish for wearing women’s clothing, which really isn’t supposed to be funny by itself, but it fits with the sort of lovable offbeat losers he seems to like to surround himself with as cast and crew. Continue reading →