Special Feature: Ten Greatest Moments from Wes Anderson Movies

It was very hard to whittle this down to just a top-ten list. There's a lot that I wanted to include but couldn't and a lot that I cheated and sneaked in with other things. Anyway, this took me a long time to research--well, watching all of the movies again--and write. Feel free to tell me how wrong I am or let me know what I left out in the comments.

Oh, and there are probably spoilers.

Portman Arrival

Yeah, I know that Natalie Portman is a little naked in “Hotel Chevalier,” but that doesn’t do it for me nearly as much as the first appearance of her when Schwartzman opens his hotel door. Maybe it’s the color of her coat or her short hair that, for whatever reason, seems shocking. Or the flowers at her side. Or the fact that she’s finishing a phone call. She’s waifish but completely intimidating, and when she smiles with a toothpick in her mouth, you completely understand what the hell is wrong with Schwartzman’s character in any movie that Schwartzman has ever been in and will ever be in. And that exchange later: “I promise I will never ever be your friend.” “If we fuck, I’m going to feel like shit tomorrow.” “That’s ok with me.” And she’s a little naked later. Did I mention that? Oh, and I also like when she uses his toothbrush.

Lost Train

“We haven’t found us yet.” It’s such an easy faux-philosophical line, and Anderson and Owen Wilson seem to be poking fun of by drawing so much attention to it. There’s just something so funny to me about the idea of a train being lost. And it leads to the first of the peacock feather rituals which shows just how lost these brothers are. And like all of the best Wes Anderson moments, it’s the clash of humor and deeper meaning that make it all magical.

Zissou Feeds a Whale

Bill Murray does some pretty ridiculous things in this movie. He points a gun at Cate Blanchett [Had to edit. For some reason, I wanted to put Paltrow in this movie.]. He stands around without a shirt. And I love the slow-motion shot of him smoking while Bowie’s “Life on Mars” plays in the background. And I love the scene where he breaks in his Adidas. And I love watching him dance to music that--I assume--only he can hear in his helmet. And I love when he curses his ineffective dolphins. But it’s this scene where he feeds a fish to a killer whale--a scene that has no business being in any movie ever--that makes me smile more than anything else.

Rat

It’s no secret that I love stop-motion animation, so the combination of that style, a Roald Dahl story, and Wes Anderson was like a dream come true for me. And I love the animation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox. The characters are great, but Rat, voiced by Willem Dafoe, might be my favorite. His intro (match flare!) is terrific, and he’s given so much character with that phallic tail, that Southern accent that can only belong to a cartoon character, all that snapping, and the way he extinguishes a match in his mouth. He’s such a comically intimidating character, and his movements are poetry. And it’s all so richly animated in the cellar stuffed with glowing golden cider. “Y’all are trespassin’ now. Illegally.”

“She was dynamite in the sack, by the way.”

I didn’t realize Ralph Fiennes could be so funny. It’s impossible not to love every single flaw of this flamboyant character. I like how he bounces off Zero who, with that goofy hastily-drawn mustache, is the perfect straight man. It’s early in their relationship and the movie where he says the “dynamite in the sack” line, and although he’s got a lot of quotable moments in The Grand Budapest Hotel, it’s this one that really tells you everything you need to know about the character. The line’s funny enough, but Anderson knows he can take it further with Zero’s response. And then you get to see Tilda Swinton’s Madame D. in her coffin (“You look like you’re alive.”) which makes the whole thing even funnier. Darkly and deadpannily, like Wes Anderson's funniest bits.

Bud Cort

I just love that Bud Cort is in The Life Aquatic. There are all kinds of completely insignificant moments I could have included in this list, but the little moment in the elevator where they put their hands in and do one of those “Team!” cheer things is just wonderful. I love Cort’s expression after Zissou says “I hope you’re not gonna bust our chops, pal” and his later reminder that he’s a “human being.” But’s his smile after their display of teamsmanship while that Devo song “Gut Feeling” rumbles in! Man, that’s terrific stuff!

Dignan’s Enthusiasm

It’s hard not to like Owen Wilson in Bottle Rocket. He’s just bursting with energy. I love watching him throw little fits--first when the hilarious “He’s out. You’re out, too. And I don’t think I’m in either” and later when takes things out on a car (“You don’t give a $500 tip to the housekeeper!”) But it’s his childish excitement that makes him so likable. There’s an unbridled glee when he’s shooting bottle rockets from the window of a moving car or when he’s getting excited about getting a passing trucker to honk his horn. But it’s his line at the end of the movie that magically manages to turn their complete disaster into a happy ending. Love how he says the words “We did it though, didn’t we?”

Petey’s Song

I think I’m just easily amused watching a stop-motion-animated person using a pumpkin as a percussion instrument. That, and I like Jarvis Cocker a lot. But my favorite thing about this whole sequence is Bean’s interruption and chastising of poor Petey, a guy with a banjo who’s just doing his best. “That’s just weak songwriting. You wrote a bad song, Petey!” Michael Gambon’s delivery is perfect there. Singin’ diddle-dee, daddle-da, doddle-do, doodle-dum.

Tour of the Belafonte

There are actually two scenes in Life Aquatic where we get tours of very detailed and wonderful sets--Alistair Hennessey’s sealab and Zissou’s ridiculously wonderful ship. I love everything about this scene. The lighting, the colors, the activity going on in the various parts of the ship, the music, the timing of it all. It’s one of the many cases where it seems like Anderson thinks he’s making a cartoon. And it reminds me of the dolphins and the scene later in the movie where Zissou checks in on them, only to find that they’re looking at each other. “Son of a bitch, I’m sick of these dolphins” is a line that will always make me laugh.

Lefty Scissors

One thing you might not expect anybody to say--Wes Anderson sure knows how to film an action sequence. The big shoot-out in Grand Budapest Hotel (the one with about .6 seconds of Clooney), the same movie’s chase sequences or big prison escape, the pirates’ boarding of the Belafonte or the rescuing of the bond company stooge and Jeff Goldblum and his “I’m a Pepper” t-shirt, the animated action sequences in The Fantastic Mr. Fox, the opening taxi ride Bill Murray’s character takes at the beginning of Darjeeling as he tries to catch his train, the dizzying climax of Moonrise Kingdom. But it’s the cutesy avant-garde action sequence when the heavily-armed scouts find Sam and Suzy that ends up being an action sequence that can car-chase circles around anything Stallone’s ever done. The flash of an arrow, a shot of those left-handed scissors, a motorbike lodged in a tree, fleeing scouts, and a poor dead dog. (“Was he a good dog?” “Who’s to say?”) Ok, so maybe it is next to impossible to describe what actually happens there.

“Best Play Ever, Man”

More Kumar might be coming later in this list. Pallana isn’t in Rushmore much, but his review of Max’s Vietnam play wraps up that sequence perfectly. And think about that curtain opening on the elaborate jungle scene and that great shot of the audience reaching for the provided headphones and safety goggles. You really can’t argue with Mr. Littlejeans’s “Best play ever,” can you, man? Mr. Littlejeans! Even that name makes me laugh.

Dafoe vs. Cat

I was leaning toward the slowly unfurling chase sequence that ends with Jopling’s demise (“Holy shit! You got him!”) or Dafoe stalking Goldblum’s character (that museum closing sign changing from 16 minutes to 14 minutes, Goldblum’s fingers and later his fingerprints), but I have to go with the cat. Just thinking about the shot of Dafoe petting the cat cracks me up. But watching him hurl the poor thing out the window, leading to Goldblum having to pick up “Persian cat, deceased” at the coat check. I just love the goofy characters Anderson has Dafoe playing. The first shot we see of the character, sitting alongside Brody’s equally ridiculous-looking character, is also great. There was a time when Willem Dafoe really confused me, but the guy's versatility is hard not to appreciate.

Shared Carrots

Bill Murray’s got a lot of great moments in Rushmore. I didn’t want him to fill up all ten spots in my top ten list, but what do I cut? The party scene where he apathetically tosses golf balls into a swimming pool before climbing to the high dive to do a cannonball, leading to one of those Anderson underwater shots? The time when he’s watching Rosemary from behind a tree and quickly ducks behind it when she and the camera find him? The macho blocking of a random kid’s basketball shot for no reason at all? That nearly made the list. That elevator scene where he’s a total mess--double cigarettes, pouring alcohol into a beer can in his breast pocket, announcing, “Ummm. . .I’m a little lonely.” Or the classic answer to Max’s question: “Yeah, I was in the shit.” But you know what my favorite Bill Murray moment in this movie is? It’s when he decides he’ll have a carrot offered by Rosemary outside her front door. He says, “Yeah, I’ll have one of those.” And then, because it’s a Wes Anderson movie, he eats a carrot.  And it means just as much as a red wheelbarrow.

Alec Baldwin’s Return as Narrator in The Royal Tenenbaums

You actually forget that the movie had a narrator until Gene Hackman tells his family that it’s been the “best six days of his whole life.” Royal’s sentiments are impossible to figure out in this. Baldwin lets us know that “immediately after making this statement, Royal realized that it was true,” the sort of simply written line that adds so many dimensions to this character. A few words, a few more words, and a few seconds of acting perfection from Hackman.

Kumar

Bottle Rocket’s a good movie but becomes borderline great when Anderson favorite Kumar Pallana gets his time to shine. During the comedy of ineptitude that is these characters’ heist, Kumar is failure incarnate. From the get-go when he asks, “Who’s that man?” to an annoyed Owen Wilson who has to explain, “That’s Applejack,” you know how it’s all going to go. He tells Dignan that he’s lost his touch, and Dignan asks appropriately, “Did you ever have a touch to lose, man?” And then he ends up in a freezer. It’s the type of thing that I can’t even think about without laughing. Kumar Pallana! God damn, he might be my favorite actor ever. Did you know, by the way, that he was in episodes of both Captain Kangaroo and The Mickey Mouse Club in 1956 and 1961 respectively? Wes Anderson movies just won't seem the same without the guy.

Cuckoo

After the cacophonous finale where the couple are on all in peril atop that church during the storm, a blue-tinted scene that reminds me of monochromatic silent movies, things settle down on the island. Suzy’s called to dinner, Sam sneaks out the window, and the camera pulls back to reveal a painting of the titular beach. Maybe it’s the Benjamin Britten’s cuckoos that get me, but that painting and those sounds somehow manage to recall everything that happened--their meeting during that elaborate Noah play, the letter exchanges, the running away, the adventure, their marriage. And most of all, the goofy but sweetly romantic time on the beach. That dance scene--check out Sam’s arms. Ear piercing. The “I may wet the bed later” warning and her understanding. Cuckoo. Cuckoo. If you don't get this relationship, you've probably never been in love and you probably don't understand anything and probably never will. And I feel sorry for you.

“Look at these assholes!”

The beginning of the turning point in Darjeeling when the trio of brothers encounter another team of brothers and something very close to an actual spiritual awakening--one that doesn’t need an itinerary--begins. It leads to a desperate rescue attempt when the boys, for the first time, actually decide to do something, and Brody’s heartbreaking delivery of the line “I didn’t save mine.” The flashback that follows, a slow-motion walk through a village, Owen's announcing that he's still got a lot of healing to do, and "expressing ourselves more fully" without words all come later, but this moment where Anderson moves from pure comedy to heartbreaking tragedy in just a few frames is so good.

Jaguar Shark

Maybe it’s that Sigur Ros song as music, once again, is an important ingredient to what Anderson creates. The whole crowd’s stuffed into that tiny submarine, absurdly. The Henry Selick creature makes an exquisite appearance, Steve Zissou reflects on an entire life, on his failure as an oceanographer and as a father and as a lover and as a man, asking none of the people in the submarine, “I wonder if it remembers me.” And in a movie that plays a little bit with what is really real and what really isn’t, the expression on Murray’s face lets us know that this is profoundly real.