The Royal Tenenbaums

2001 tragi-comedy

Rating: 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.

Greenberg

2010 comedy

Rating: 15/20 (Jen: 13/20)

Plot: The titular New York carpenter ends stint at a mental institution and agrees to house sit for his brother in Los Angeles while the brother's away. He reconnects with a few old friends and an ex-lover and meets his brother's family's assistant, a 20-something year old named Florence. Life, however, is not very easy for Roger Greenberg. He works on a doghouse for his brother's family and tries very hard to know nothing else at all.

I've always liked Ben Stiller even without really liking any movies that he's really known for. Maybe it's because I know he's eventually going to get older and look like Jerry Stiller, a guy whose appearance alone can make me laugh. Then, Future Ben Stiller makes me laugh and leaves me with a good overall impression of Present Ben Stiller. I also really like Noah Baumbach and his particular brand of understated comedies that emphasize all those little awkward characteristics that might not make much of a real difference but that help define who we are as humans. The oft-kitschy soundtrack (LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy), the philosophical focus on minutia, and the life-damaged protagonist that Stiller plays recalled Paul Thomas Anderson's hugely-underrated Punch-Drunk Love. Some will gripe that the characters, especially Stiller's, just don't communicate or respond to life like real people would, but I like how written it all is. While we can definitely understand the rather serious problems Roger's got, they're treated comically, and Stiller's performance helps make a very unlikable fellow somebody who we want to spend the time with and root for. Baumbach's self-referential with his screenplay, bringing back dialogue snippets that seemed pointless, and he's really good here with revealing just enough. I like these sort of in medias res character studies where you aren't given a complete portrait of the character's past (or even future, by the end of the movie) but are given enough to put some pieces together on your own. And it's all pretty funny and, ultimately, even a little touching, too. This isn't the type of comedic character study that will appeal to everybody, but I wouldn't imagine fans of Noah Baumbach would have any reason to be disappointed.

I've also decided to start wearing my hair like Ben Stilller's Greenberg does. I think that's the type of hair I should have.