2001 tragi-comedyRating: 18/20 (Jen: fell asleep)
Plot: The estranged Tenenbaum patriarch decides, possibly for financial reasons, that he wants relationships with his wife and kids. They all have various problems.
How can a movie be this funny and sad at the same time? A lot of the credit has to go to the writing(Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson, maybe not in that order) but a lot of it belongs to the ensemble cast, fantastic from top to bottom. That includes the two mini-Stillers in the red jumpsuits on the poster there. And you, narrator Alec Baldwin! This is like a cartoon with real human beings, only they're not real human beings at all and this has a lot more color. My favorite thing about this movie are the little details, the way Anderson shades the corners of his shots by adding random dalmation mice or having all those little paintings on the walls of the Tenenbaum home. Seriously, you could watch this movie four thousand times and not be able to absorb everything to see. It's the comic timing that makes you laugh here at all these lines that you're not normally supposed to laugh at, like Bill Murray's "I want to die." And anything that Kumar Pallana says. That guy's probably our greatest living actor, and I'm not even exaggerating when I say that. And yes, this is the kind of thing where if you argue with me, I'll hit you in the head with a rake. This isn't a movie for everybody, but I do think it's an acquired taste. Watch it those four thousand times, and I bet the same things that I love will be the same things that you love--the hilariously troubled characters, the pacing, the happy chaos, the soundtrack, the unflinching wardrobe. Nah, a large chunk of the audience will probably gag on the style. Gene Hackman, sans towel, gives a performance in this that I think is special, building this uncomfortable rapport with every other character and nailing every single line he's given. Especially "Let's shag ass." Sloppy, sloopy, full of whimsy, teetering on the edge, and never predictable, this is just one of those that I enjoy watching the fourth or fifth time just as much as the first.
Mexican artist--Miguel Calderon. See? I'm not that lazy.
favorite lines from the movie:
ReplyDelete-I'm color blind?
-Did you call me coltrane.
20/20
How about anything with that kid who hangs around Bill Murray the entire movie? I started laughing when I saw him at the funeral.
ReplyDeleteSPOILER ALERT!
He's the one who says "I'm color blind?" when Bill Murray is explaining the hall that he has acute hearing among other things. He's great!
ReplyDeleteIm not quite as fond of this as you are. Hackman is great, in one of his last roles. I like the Wilson boys, and Stiller is sort of tolerable, but Paltrow and her entire storyline more than bored me...it completely dropped me from the movie, since its the storyline that gets the most focus. Its an uneven film that never figures out what it wants to be, since it wants to be everything. I admire that it strives for so much, but for large portions of the movie, its a jumbled mess. I didnt really like any of the people represented, and their lives and problems became little cutesy character pieces, and cardboard cutouts of what real people are supposed to be. Its a problem that a lot of Andersons films have with me. Nobody in them actually acts like real people...they act like people who have scripts handed to them by Wes Anderson. They all talk alike and think alike. They all have similar vocabularies and similar phrasings. Every single person is quirky....every single one. When everybody is quirky, no one is quirky. The key to good comedy AND good drama is highlighting differences. Instead in this film, and so many others, its highlighting what sort of odd thing each person does.
ReplyDeleteIts not as overtly obnoxious as The Life Aquatic, or most egregiously, The Darjeeling Limited, but they all share the same issues. Its the same actors playing the same characters in movies that want to be more than what they are.
A 14...mostly for Hackman, and of course Bill Murray.
19/20
ReplyDelete'Rushmore" gets a 20.
You are right about the re-watch-ablity of this one. I have seen this 30+ times.
The pacing is wonderful. It keeps folding in on itself, but doesn't get old.
How is Ben Stiller not annoying in this? Paltrow is, but she can't help it.
I really wanted to like "Aquatic", but didn't as much as this. Same goes for "Limited", except for Portman boobies.
I would put "Fox" at a 19 as well. I think my son is tired of me wanting to watch it again.
Why would a reviewer make the point of saying someone's *not* a genius? Do you especially think I'm *not* a genius?
You didn't even have to think about it, did you?
It's interesting how this (and other Wes Anderson films) clearly separates the Shane readers into the two defined groups shaped by friendship and experience. Insofar as I remember this film, I completely agree with Barry (very well written, by the way). The tone is amusing, but quirky is simply a gimmick. It tickles, but is not genuine or meaningful. Excepting "Fantastic Mr. Fox", the other four Anderson films I have seen are watchable niche entertainment, but not as clever as they think they are. A 15.
ReplyDeleteOdd criticism, Cory...I don't see how "quirky is a gimmick" here. And I don't see why you need to be tickled in a genuine or meaningful way in order to rate a comedy highly. Are you really trying to tell me that 'Kingpin' tickles you in some kind of meaningful way?
ReplyDeleteOh, I thought I'd already responded to what Barry commented...yeah, I can see the point. I think the way I see it is that Anderson creates these other worlds where people act like characters in his movies do. It's kind of like watching a movie from the 30s. Nobody REALLY acts like that, but you accept it because you're watching a movie. I think some people just like the way the characters act in Wes Andersonland. But I do understand your gripe for sure...
ReplyDeletejen only fell asleep because she was deliriously tired... love this movie, 19. i am very envious of their game closet.
ReplyDeleteJen and I also love 'Darjeeling' and 'Life Aquatic,' probably because we're hipsters.
ReplyDeleteYou probably fell asleep because I started this at around 11:30.