History YMMV / EdWood

* AwardSnub: One of Creator/JohnnyDepp's best performances went un-nominated. Also, the gorgeous black and white cinematography was snubbed.

** Ed complains that studios are always wanting to cast their buddies in films; director Tim Burton has been known to work (almost exclusively on occasion) with his ProductionPosse (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter (and before her, Lisa Marie) Film/ChristopherLee, Creator/WinonaRyder etc.) Also Ed notes that sometimes these people aren't even right for the part, which matches criticisms that Burton miscast Depp and Bonham Carter in Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet.

** Ed and his ragtag crew having to flee from the cops before they're caught shooting their NoBudget film on location without a permit. This is exactly how ''Film/{{Pi}}'' was made.

* FairForItsDay: The film has a fair bit of DeliberateValuesDissonance, such as Ed being asked if he's a "fruit" or a "fag" when he mentions his cross-dressing, and Bunny's [[TooMuchInformation openness about his hypothetical sex change]] is {{played for laughs}}. Despite this, LGBTQ characters are otherwise depicted in a largely unassuming light, with both the narrative and heteronormative characters treating them with relative normalcy which was unthinkable in the 1950s and only slightly less so in the 1990s. As mentioned on the trivia page, the popularity of this film elevated the real Ed Wood to an LTBGQ icon.

* HilariousInHindsight: Creator/MartinLandau played Creator/BelaLugosi, who played a popular [[{{Film/Dracula 1931}} fictional vampire]]. A couple of years later, his daughter Creator/JulietLandau would play [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer another popular fictional vampire]].

* MemeticMutation: "What do ''you'' know? Haven't you heard of suspension of disbelief?"

* HarsherInHindsight:
** As WebVideo/RedLetterMedia pointed out on ''WebVideo/ReView'', the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue tells us that Ed had two failed marriages and became an alcoholic. This mirrors what happened to Creator/JohnnyDepp in RealLife, making the film come off as eerily prophetic.
** Dolores angrily throws things at Ed when she loses a part in ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster''. Among Depp's accusations against his ex-wife Creator/AmberHeard, were her throwing things at him.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Reading a review, Creator/SarahJessicaParker says "Do I really have a face like a horse?" She would start getting a lot of that during ''Series/SexAndTheCity''.
** Creator/MartinLandau played Creator/BelaLugosi, who played a popular [[{{Film/Dracula 1931}} fictional vampire]]. A couple of years later, his daughter Creator/JulietLandau would play [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer another popular fictional vampire]].

** As WebVideo/RedLetterMedia pointed out on ''WebVideo/ReView'', the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue tells us that Ed had two failed marriages and became an alcoholic. This mirrors what happened to Creator/JohnnyDepp in RealLife.
** Dolores angrily throws things at Ed when she loses a part in ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster''. Among Depp's accusations against his ex-wife Creator/AmberHeard, were her throwing various items at him.

** Dolores angrily throws things at Ed when she loses a part in ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster''. In 2020, it was revealed that Depp was physically abused by his ex-wife Creator/AmberHeard, who ''threw plant pots at him''.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: While the film plays loosely with history throughout, it's also been described as "the kind of biopic Creator/EdWood would have made for himself." Everything that happens after Ed storms out of the ''Plan 9'' shoot in drag is completely made up: he certainly didn't meet Creator/OrsonWelles and the movie ''definitely'' didn't have such a lavish, heavily publicized premiere. Is the film simply being kind to Ed by giving him a happy ending he could only wish he'd ever get, it the film supposed to be Ed's memories and he's remembering them in more flattering ways than they happened or, considering that Wood was [[TheAlcoholic an alcoholic]] and immediately goes to a bar, is it [[AllJustADream all just a drunken stupor]]?

* ValuesResonance: DeliberateValuesDissonance notwithstanding, the movie has a very accepting attitude towards its LGBT characters. Ed and Bunny are eccentric misfits who are nonetheless portrayed with humanity and sympathy by both the narrative and the heteronormative characters. While only slightly less unheard of today, it was hardly common for mainstream comedies in the nineties to be anywhere near this kind to gay or gender-nonconforming characters (''Film/AceVenturaPetDetective'', with it's infamous [[UnsettlingGenderReveal "Einhorn is a man!" scene]], was released only a few months before this one, and the rest of the decade wasn't much kinder).

* ValuesResonance: DeliberateValuesDissonance notwithstanding, the movie has a very accepting attitude towards its LGBT characters. Ed and Bunny are eccentric misfits who are nonetheless portrayed with humanity and sympathy by both the narrative and the heteronormative characters. While only slightly less unheard of today, it was hardly common for mainstream comedies in the nineties to be anywhere near this kind to gay or gender-nonconforming character (''Film/AceVenturaPetDetective'', with it's infamous [[UnsettlingGenderReveal "Einhorn is a man!" scene]], had only come out a year prior, and the rest of the decade wasn't much kinder).

** As WebVideo/RedLetterMedia pointed out, the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue tells us that Ed had two failed marriages and became an alcoholic. This mirrors what happened to Creator/JohnnyDepp in RealLife.

* ValuesResonance: DeliberateValuesDissonance notwithstanding, the movie has a very accepting attitude towards its LGBT characters. Ed and Bunny are eccentric misfits who are nonetheless portrayed with humanity and sympathy. It's all the more remarkable given the time the movie was made, as it was unfortunately common for comedy movies like Film/AceVentura to derive cheap, mean-spirited laughs from LGBT characters by treating them with contempt.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: While the film plays loosely with history throughout, it's also been described as "the kind of biopic Creator/EdWood would have made for himself." Everything that happens after Ed storms out of the ''Plan 9'' shoot in drag is completely made up: he certainly didn't meet Creator/OrsonWelles and the movie ''definitely'' didn't have such a lavish, heavily publicized premiere. Is the film simply being kind to Ed by giving him a happy ending he could only wish he'd ever get, or, considering that Wood was [[TheAlcoholic an alcoholic]] and immediately goes to a bar, is it [[AllJustADream all just a drunken stupor]]?

* ValuesResonance: DeliberateValuesDissonance notwithstanding, the movie has a very accepting attitude towards its LGBT characters. Ed and Bunny are eccentric misfits who are nonetheless portrayed with humanity and sympathy. It's all the more remarkable given the time the movie was made, as it was unfortunately common for comedy movies like Film/AceVentura to derive cheap, mean-spirited laughs from LGBT characters and generally treat them with contempt.

* HarsherInHindsight: The WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue tells us that Ed had two failed marriages and became an alcoholic. This mirrors what happened to Creator/JohnnyDepp in RealLife.

* CultClassic: Praised by critics but almost unnoticed by the general public during its release, the movie is understandably popular with Creator/EdWood aficionados and anyone who wants to go into film.

* ValuesResonance: The film is very open-minded and accepting when it comes to its LGBT characters. Ed's crossdressing is never presented something that makes him deserving of scorn.

* TheWoobie

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: While the film plays loosely with history throughout, it's also been described as "the kind of biopic Creator/EdWood would have made for himself." Everything that happens after Ed storms out of the ''Plan 9'' shoot in drag is completely made up: he certainly didn't meet Creator/OrsonWelles and the movie ''definitely'' didn't have such a lavish, heavily publicized premiere. Was this the filmmakers playing with history or the sake of drama, or is it Ed Wood's ego hijacking the story? Considering Wood's own [[TheAlcoholic alcoholism]], the fact that he immediately goes to a bar might even make this [[AllJustADream all just a drunken stupor]].

** Martin Landau played Creator/BelaLugosi, who played a popular [[{{Film/Dracula 1931}} fictional vampire]]. A couple of years later, his daughter Creator/JulietLandau would play [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer another popular fictional vampire]].

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: While the film plays loosely with history throughout, it's also been described as "the kind of biopic Ed Wood would have made for himself." Everything that happens after Ed storms out of the ''Plan 9'' shoot in drag is completely made up: he certainly didn't meet Creator/OrsonWelles and the movie ''definitely'' didn't have such a lavish, heavily publicized premiere. Was this the filmmakers playing with history or the sake of drama, or is it Ed Wood's ego hijacking the story? Considering Wood's own [[TheAlcoholic alcoholism]], the fact that he immediately goes to a bar might even make this [[AllJustADream all just a drunken stupor]].
* CultClassic: Praised by critics but almost unnoticed by the general public during its release, the movie is understandably popular with Ed Wood aficionados and anyone who wants to go into film.

** Martin Landau played Bela Lugosi, who played a popular [[{{Film/Dracula 1931}} fictional vampire]]. A couple of years later, his daughter Creator/JulietLandau would play [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer another popular fictional vampire]].

*** And then Johnny Depp would go on to play another [[{{Film/DarkShadows}} famous vampire]] much later (in a movie also directed by Tim Burton).