Oct. 17
Discussion
Prop. 89 debate
Hear expert panelists discuss the pros and cons of Proposition 89, the campaign reform ballot measure that would allot 0.2 percent of corporate tax funds to state campaigns and also lower contribution limits. (Deborah Giattina)
Noon
Commonwealth Club of California
595 Market, second floor, SF
Free
(415) 597-6700
Film
Running with Scissors
Augusten Burroughs’s autobiographical tome gets a surefooted film adaptation from Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy. As a child little Augusten thinks nothing of being woken in the middle of the night for a command living room poetry performance by his mother, Deirdre (Annette Bening), or being a less-willing witness to the fights between her and the “oppressor” husband (Alec Baldwin). By age 13, Augusten (Joseph Cross) is sorta-kinda orphaned. Dad has bolted, and Mom in her infinitely selfish, manic-depressive wisdom has deposited Augusten whole in the “care” of her shrink. Swinging tonally from comic highs to scarifying (but still comic) lows in tune with its characters, Murphy’s first directorial feature is a tad uneven in its quality. But overall it does a pretty fine job with tricky material, especially within the all-important area of casting. (Dennis Harvey)
In Bay Area theaters