Harry here, still haven't seen this one, it is strange, I was hearing mixed reviews at first, followed by these praises that I've been hearing more recently. As always there's multiple sides to it all, hopefully I'll see it this week....
Ahoy there, Squirts. 'Tis I, the world renowned and crusty ol' seaman, Quint, to give you folks a little sneak peek at Wes Anderson's follow-up to his dark/high-brow comedy Rushmore. To start off, I walked into the screening after my first long sleep since the conclusion of Butt-Numb-A-Thon 3: The Dark Side. I had been up roughly 32 hours and had slept most of Monday away. As a result I was in a kind of weird state. I wasn't sure if the slothness and lagging in my psyche was due to too much sleep or my body telling me I needed more. At any rate it was the perfect state to watch Anderson's new film in.
I had been hearing mediocre and bad word coming in from early screenings of Tenenbaums which had gotten me a bit worried. I love Rushmore to death. I dig Bottle Rocket quite a bit, but unlike Rushmore, which I loved from the first viewing, it took a few viewings of Bottle Rocket for me to appreciate Anderson's humor, pacing and timing. I didn't want to see a Wes Anderson movie that disappointed me. So now you know the state I was in as the theater darkened and the projectionist flicked a magic switch which opened up a window in time and space, allowing us, the audience, to take a peek into Wes Anderson's strange, but wildly entertaining mind.
The Royal Tenenbaums is, at its core, a dysfunctional family movie. Anjelica Huston and Gene Hackman star as the parents, the mutual heads of a family of geniuses. Of course they a divorce in the first few minutes of the movie. Ben Stiller and Luke Wilson are Huston and Hackman's sons, one an entrepreneur since his preteen years, the other a world famous tennis player. Gwyneth Paltrow is their sister who never lives down the fact that she was adopted. Owen Wilson is a friend of the family in to drugs, fast cars and wild times. Anderson regular Kumar Pallana plays the manservant to the family. Bill Murray is Gwyneth's humble, low key husband who spends most of his time scientifically researching a geeky prepubescent boy (you'll see). Danny Glover is Anjelica Huston's long time accountant who is now attempting to woo her.
The above only scratches the surface of these characters. To expose anymore, to reveal important character moments or characteristics would be a disservice to the film. What would be the point in seeing the movie if I tell the whole thing to ya'?!?!?
I can assure you, however, that in the opinion of this Wes Anderson fan, that The Royal Tenenbaums stands shoulder to shoulder with Anderson's previous works. I believe that most fans of Anderson's will dig the movie, if not fall in love with its quirkiness. Those who aren't big fans of Anderson might not like it as much. That's just the way the man directs his films. Same goes for The Coen Bros., Spike Lee and Woody Allen. You know if you like those directors or not and usually there's very little gray area. You like all of their films or you don't like all of their films, give or take one or two, of course.
Let me say that Gene Hackman just about steals this film and that's saying a lot when the film also stars the likes of Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, Luke Wilson and Ben Stiller at the top of his game. Hackman plays the jackass character that you can't help but have fun watching as he is a complete dick to people. His character is very close in feel to that of Bill Murray's Rushmore character. You know every time he's onscreen you're going to have a laugh, whether it's just a chuckle from a facial expression or a gutbuster. Hackman is without a doubt at the top of his game in this film, reminding us, the audience, that he's got a great gift for comedic timing.
Anjelica Huston scares me. She's a frightening person. I don't know if it's because she traumatized me as a child growing up with her portrayal as the head witch in the film The Witches or what, but goddamn she's a scary looking person. Or she's a very boring person. She either scares me in films or bores me to death. With only a few exceptions Anjelica Huston doesn't rock my boat. But she's fantastic in this film. Neither boring nor scary, she has a great presence in the film and a surprising vulnerability. She forces you to care about her. It was a pleasant surprise for me.
Kumar has a full on role! How about that? And he rocks the earth! Kumar was the guy responsible for cracking the safe in Bottle Rocket and had a very bit role (almost cameo) in Rushmore as the groundskeeper. Kumar is hilarious, a non-actor... or if he is an actor he doesn't come across as one... The back and forth between Kumar and Gene Hackman are the highlights of the movie for me.
I'm gonna cut this review short folks as I have a LOT to either catch up with or prepare for. I mean... by this time tomorrow... I will have seen LORD OF THE FUCKING RINGS!!!! I must have a good night's sleep! BUT I do recommend Royal Tenenbaums very highly, especially to those who dig on Wes Anderson's style of filmmaking. I'll be hitting you squirts with some mighty cool shit in the next few days, including my LORD OF THE FUCKING RINGS review and my summary of this year's BNAT. 'Til that day, squirts, this is Quint bidding you all a farewell and adieu.
-Quint
