Post by Pulpmariachi on Dec 22, 2005 12:27:56 GMT -5
So here it is, my favorite movie of all-time, or at least has been for about the last year or two. Here there be SPOILERS, maybe.
I guess you could sum up this movie in the phrase: "Depression couldn't be as fun." Or maybe the actual tagline: "Family isn't a word...it's a sentence." Because, have no doubt about it, this IS a depressing movie.
"The Royal Tenenbaums" is the story of a family who used to be geniuses. There's business guru Chas (Ben Stiller, who is actually ACTING, rather than playing himself), genius playwrite and adopted daughter Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), and young tennis champ Richie (Luke Wilson). In their youth they were geniuses, but while growing up some series of unfortunate events had befallen them and they now live in the shadows of their former selves.
Their father was once a...well, we don't actually know what he was. There's the impression given that he was a lawyer (his son sued and disbarred him), but he too is can only look back. He's about to be kicked out of the hotel he's been living in for the past decade or longer, and in a desperate attempt to kill two birds with one stone, Royal Tenenbaum fakes an illness to reconcile with his family and go back to living under his old roof.
But it's not as he expected. His children are all bitter. Chas lost his wife six months prior and now is a huge safety freak, putting his two boys through all sorts of mindless dirlls. Chas also hasn't forgiven his dear old dad for stealing funds from him while he was a minor or shooting him in the knuckle with a BB. Margot is simply depressed, choosing to spend the majority of her time in her bathroom, watching an ancient television set that is tied to a radiator. She is married to the quiet and somber Raleigh St. Claire (Bill Murray, with a beard) who spends his time doing tests on a boy named Dudley who has a form of mental retardation where he can't tell time, match shapes, and is color blind. However, he can hear very well. Richie hasn't even been home in over a year. He's been out on a cruise liner sailing all over the world.
Meanwhile, Royal's wife, Etheline (a magnificant Anjelica Houston, one of her best roles EVER) is maybe getting married to her tax consultant Henry (Danny Glover); and old neighbor Eli Cash (Owen Wilson) has published a book (presupposing that Custer DIDN'T die at Little Big Horn), is hopped up on mescaline, and is having an affair with Margot.
Wes Anderson goes all out on this one. On top of assembling a top-notch cast of actors who transcend their namesakes and become the characters (you don't say, "Hey it's Gene Hackman!" You say, "Hey, it's Royal. What an asshole!"), he has put an insane amount of his attention to detail. I think this is one of the best-looking movies out there, thanks to the warm cinematogrpahy of Robert Yeoman (minus one bitterly cold moment) and the brilliant production design of David Wasco. The background of the house is loaded with all sorts of important things and more information about the family. There are childish drawings and paintings lining the walls telling the entire history of the family Tenenbaum. And the outfits! The film, while taking place in 2001, has characters stuck in the 70s. There are 70s fashions abound--the characters are stuck in their own past; they haven't moved on.
The literacy level in the film is off the map. Not just the numerous references to (mainly) 20th century American literature with books like From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler, The Catcher in the Rye, Franny and Zooey (Salinger is a major influence here), and the works of H. P. Lovecraft, but the film is a book itself. Literally. It is set up in chapter style and is complete with a narrator, the very omniscent Alec Baldwin, doing a masterful job of telling the story. Nearly all the characters have written books as well. From Etheline's "Family of Geniuses", to Raleigh's book which I can't remember the title and "Dudley's World", Henry's book of taxes, Margot's numerous plays (one of them so elegantly titled "The Erotic Awakening of S"), and so many more.
The film isn't all gloom and doom. There are quite a numerous bits of laughs. Loads in fact. Many quotes come from Royal, who talks like he's a cowboy of sorts, screeching things like, "You want to talk some jive?! I'll talk some jive like you've never heard!" Or, "I've always been considered an asshole, it's sort of just been my style." Hearing Royal's odd vernacular is worth seeing the movie anyways. And Richie, when trying to hit a tennis ball in the match that ended his career, is so depressed and sad (that he's crying on the court and has removed both his shoes and one sock) that he throws his racket in an attempt to hit the ball. Then there are the montages, one of the most notable being the boys and Royal running reckless: stealing things, throwing water balloons at taxis, and attending dog fights. Housekeeper Pagoda is always a hoot.
New York is just as prominent in the film (another Salinger reference), but Anderson makes sure that we don't see any landmarks that make up New York. I guess he's showing that it's about the characters who live in New York (complete with made up buildings, like the 375th Y) and not the city to overshadow the characters.
You'd think that with as many characters as an ensemble requires, they would be competiting for screentime, but it's not the case as everyone is evenly shown and characterized. This is another character piece from Wes, nothing really more. And it doesn't try to be.
It is my opinion that Wes Anderson is a genius and has shown it right here. There isn't really another movie like this, and you can't really say anything but it's brilliant. But like most Anderson films you have to give it more than one chance. And the emotions you feel on each viewing can vary from being sad, laughing your head off, to becoming depressed and somber, to have a combination of all three. It's quite interesting.
"Go, Mordecai!"
****/****
I guess you could sum up this movie in the phrase: "Depression couldn't be as fun." Or maybe the actual tagline: "Family isn't a word...it's a sentence." Because, have no doubt about it, this IS a depressing movie.
"The Royal Tenenbaums" is the story of a family who used to be geniuses. There's business guru Chas (Ben Stiller, who is actually ACTING, rather than playing himself), genius playwrite and adopted daughter Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), and young tennis champ Richie (Luke Wilson). In their youth they were geniuses, but while growing up some series of unfortunate events had befallen them and they now live in the shadows of their former selves.
Their father was once a...well, we don't actually know what he was. There's the impression given that he was a lawyer (his son sued and disbarred him), but he too is can only look back. He's about to be kicked out of the hotel he's been living in for the past decade or longer, and in a desperate attempt to kill two birds with one stone, Royal Tenenbaum fakes an illness to reconcile with his family and go back to living under his old roof.
But it's not as he expected. His children are all bitter. Chas lost his wife six months prior and now is a huge safety freak, putting his two boys through all sorts of mindless dirlls. Chas also hasn't forgiven his dear old dad for stealing funds from him while he was a minor or shooting him in the knuckle with a BB. Margot is simply depressed, choosing to spend the majority of her time in her bathroom, watching an ancient television set that is tied to a radiator. She is married to the quiet and somber Raleigh St. Claire (Bill Murray, with a beard) who spends his time doing tests on a boy named Dudley who has a form of mental retardation where he can't tell time, match shapes, and is color blind. However, he can hear very well. Richie hasn't even been home in over a year. He's been out on a cruise liner sailing all over the world.
Meanwhile, Royal's wife, Etheline (a magnificant Anjelica Houston, one of her best roles EVER) is maybe getting married to her tax consultant Henry (Danny Glover); and old neighbor Eli Cash (Owen Wilson) has published a book (presupposing that Custer DIDN'T die at Little Big Horn), is hopped up on mescaline, and is having an affair with Margot.
Wes Anderson goes all out on this one. On top of assembling a top-notch cast of actors who transcend their namesakes and become the characters (you don't say, "Hey it's Gene Hackman!" You say, "Hey, it's Royal. What an asshole!"), he has put an insane amount of his attention to detail. I think this is one of the best-looking movies out there, thanks to the warm cinematogrpahy of Robert Yeoman (minus one bitterly cold moment) and the brilliant production design of David Wasco. The background of the house is loaded with all sorts of important things and more information about the family. There are childish drawings and paintings lining the walls telling the entire history of the family Tenenbaum. And the outfits! The film, while taking place in 2001, has characters stuck in the 70s. There are 70s fashions abound--the characters are stuck in their own past; they haven't moved on.
The literacy level in the film is off the map. Not just the numerous references to (mainly) 20th century American literature with books like From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler, The Catcher in the Rye, Franny and Zooey (Salinger is a major influence here), and the works of H. P. Lovecraft, but the film is a book itself. Literally. It is set up in chapter style and is complete with a narrator, the very omniscent Alec Baldwin, doing a masterful job of telling the story. Nearly all the characters have written books as well. From Etheline's "Family of Geniuses", to Raleigh's book which I can't remember the title and "Dudley's World", Henry's book of taxes, Margot's numerous plays (one of them so elegantly titled "The Erotic Awakening of S"), and so many more.
The film isn't all gloom and doom. There are quite a numerous bits of laughs. Loads in fact. Many quotes come from Royal, who talks like he's a cowboy of sorts, screeching things like, "You want to talk some jive?! I'll talk some jive like you've never heard!" Or, "I've always been considered an asshole, it's sort of just been my style." Hearing Royal's odd vernacular is worth seeing the movie anyways. And Richie, when trying to hit a tennis ball in the match that ended his career, is so depressed and sad (that he's crying on the court and has removed both his shoes and one sock) that he throws his racket in an attempt to hit the ball. Then there are the montages, one of the most notable being the boys and Royal running reckless: stealing things, throwing water balloons at taxis, and attending dog fights. Housekeeper Pagoda is always a hoot.
New York is just as prominent in the film (another Salinger reference), but Anderson makes sure that we don't see any landmarks that make up New York. I guess he's showing that it's about the characters who live in New York (complete with made up buildings, like the 375th Y) and not the city to overshadow the characters.
You'd think that with as many characters as an ensemble requires, they would be competiting for screentime, but it's not the case as everyone is evenly shown and characterized. This is another character piece from Wes, nothing really more. And it doesn't try to be.
It is my opinion that Wes Anderson is a genius and has shown it right here. There isn't really another movie like this, and you can't really say anything but it's brilliant. But like most Anderson films you have to give it more than one chance. And the emotions you feel on each viewing can vary from being sad, laughing your head off, to becoming depressed and somber, to have a combination of all three. It's quite interesting.
"Go, Mordecai!"
****/****
