Die Royal Tenenbaums

With 'The Royal Tenenbaums', Wes Anderson turns his lens to the American family, warts and all. The Tenenbaums are a dysfunctional family – the parents have been separated for decades, and Royal (Gene Hackman) is a disbarred attorney who has long since moved out of the family's enormous house (in an unnamed city of course). The children, all geniuses and overachievers in their own way, are then raised by Etheline (Angelica Houston), an archeologist. Chas (Ben Stiller) is a financial wizard, Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), is adopted and was a published playwright at 11, and Richie (Luke Wilson) is a tennis prodigy. We are provided the family history at the start of the film, then are introduced to the family 22 years later. Chas is still a financial wizard, but, having lost his wife in a plane accident is now the paranoid father of two small sons. Margot is married to Raleigh St. Clair (Bill Murray, who is basically Anderson's muse), is depressed and hasn't written in years, and Richie, after having a nervous breakdown on the tennis court a couple of years earlier is traveling the world by boat. Still hanging around is Eli (Owen Wilson) a long-time family friend from across the street who is now a literature professor and successful novelist. Etheline is being wooed by her accountant, Henry (Danny Glover) and when Royal gets wind of this, he embarks on a bid to win his family back after not speaking with them for years.

Wes Anderson has an unusual style of film-making that has been static throughout his career. Highly theatrical, almost in the style of a play, he presents the story of the Tenenbaums to us as if it were taken directly from a book, so much so that if you were to read the few sentences that are visible in the book that accompanies the beginning of each 'chapter', you would see that the written narrative follows the action to the letter. Anderson favors primary colors, and characters that are identifiable by very distinct appearances. Chas and his sons have their red track suits they always wear, Margot wears the clip in her hair, Izod dresses from the 80's and dark eyeliner surrounding her eyes, Richie wears the sweatband around his head, Eli is in cowboy gear and Raleigh looks like a Freud knockoff. One of the results is that there are varying degrees of recognition for the actor in 'real life'. When seeing Raleigh, it's easy to forget that it is Bill Murray, and Margot for that matter is so different from how we are used to seeing Paltrow. Certainly, this is Anderson's intent. Anderson also favors point of view shots, characters looking directly at or addressing the camera, and is also one of the few modern masters in the use of music. The soundtrack to 'The Royal Tenenbaums' features some classic songs (Ruby Tuesday, Hey Jude) but also has some obscure tracks that are bizarre and fit into the scene beautifully.

'The Royal Tenenbaums' has a phenomenal cast, and all of the actors are excellent in the film. I get the strong impression that, since Anderson isn't a mainstream film director, A-list actors sign up to work for him because of his alternative vision and his obvious talent. When I watched this film recently, I asked the two friends I saw it with what they thought, and they both said 'It was quirky'. Since they are both film lovers, I was a little disappointed in this narrow (and obvious) assessment of the film at first. Upon further reflection, however, I realized that they both come from households that have parents who are still together. Coming from a 'broken home' I can relate to the high dysfunction of the Tenenbaums as an adult and embrace the story beyond the presentation, despite its highly stylized format. 'The Royal Tenenbaums' is a brilliant film that is both emotional and eye-catching, and truly cements Wes Anderson as an exciting and talented filmmaker. 9/10

--Shelly

This was a quirky film that surprised me, in that I liked it....at least twice. By the third viewing, I had enough but I got my money's worth out of it. That's what I would recommend with this movie: rent it before considering buying it. It's very different, and you might love but also might hate it.

What it is, simply, is a portrait of a very dysfunctional family and the father trying to re-connect with his kids after a long absence. Gene Hackman is the father, Angelica Huston the mother and the wacko kids - and other assorted strange characters - are played by Ben Stiller, Owen and Luke Wilson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Bill Murray and Danny Glover.

This is mostly dry, dark humor with some funny lines delivered in deadpan style. Nobody is particularly likable but - with the possible exception of Paltrow's character - are not really unlikeable either. They are just strange.

I enjoyed viewing the house with all its colors. For those who appreciate low-key absurd humor nd some pleasing visuals, you should like this film and I certainly recommend giving it a look.

Wes Anderson has been the face of a new brand of comedy ever since he burst onto the scene in 1996 with Bottle Rocket. He further established himself with the 1998 hit Rushmore. The Royal Tenenbaums is considered by many to be his finest work and it is kind of hard to dispute that. This is a rich, complex movie dealing with multiple characters that all suffer from serious trouble in one way or another. Gene Hackman plays the father of a family that was once quite prominent in the world of geniuses. The oldest son Chas was a successful real estate dealer, daughter Margot became a famous playwright in the ninth grade, and youngest son Richie went on to become a great tennis player. Still, all their talent couldn't keep their father from leaving them, and now he returns to see them because he tells them he is dying.

This movie works, but not as easily as some other comedies. Being a Wes Anderson movie, the humor here is very dry and there are multiple scenes when you will ask yourself if you should be sad, angry, or laugh at the characters. The look of the movie is remarkable and it perfectly matches the feeling of each character. The acting is tremendous, especially by Hackman, as well as Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, and Angelica Huston. The whole movie is filled with weird and quirk situations, yet it all makes sense somehow. The story gives us these people and their problems and we watch as they try to piece their life back together after being apart for so long. If you are a fan of Wes Anderson, you owe it to yourself to see this. If you aren't, it still is worth seeing, but give it some time. Watching it a second time really helped me understand the characters and the story better. It may do the same for you.

I think it's unfortunate that some of those who liked this film imply that anyone who found it a waste of time is a boor, who is only interested in Jim Carrey style films. There are some very off-beat, "arty" films that I enjoy a great deal. This was not one of them, though. To me, it was "okay", but certainly not great. The humor was very subtle. I got most of the "jokes" (or humorous aspects, really, more than jokes) that people have mentioned, but they just weren't all that funny, to me. Maybe I actually sympathized with the characters too much; the humor was overwhelmed by the sadness of their situations.

Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) left his family. Etheline (Anjelica Huston) raised their three children as oddball geniuses. Twenty two years later, their early successes are now old memories. Chas (Ben Stiller) is a death-obsessed widowed father to Ari and Uzi. Richie (Luke Wilson) is a former tennis champ in love with his adopted sister Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow). Their neighbor childhood friend Eli Cash (Owen Wilson) is now a successful writer and professor. Margot is married to neurologist Raleigh St. Clair (Bill Murray). Etheline is asked by her friend Henry Sherman (Danny Glover) to get marry. Royal is broke. After finding out about the proposal, he tries to inject himself into the family by telling them that he's dying.

Director Wes Anderson starts his journey to discover his unique style. I love the visual concept of what he's doing. I don't particularly like the characters or their story. I don't find it funny but I do like the unique style. This is a wacky dysfunctional family that doesn't make me laugh.