This is the third time I watched a movie directed by Wes Anderson and written by Anderson and Owen Wilson. The first time was with a movie called "Bottle Rocket." I was curious because I'd heard so much about it, but when I watched it, I was disappointed. It had a few funny moments (especially when Owen Wilson screams out, "Cuh-CAW! Cuh-CAW!!"), but other than that, I didn't think it was that great. The second was "Rushmore," and I was really looking forward to the movie. Trailers made the movie seem interesting, and critics loved it, but when I saw it in the theater, I was disappointed. Now there's "The Royal Tenenbaums." Again, the trailers made it look very good, and the movie has gotten lotsa critical praise. Well, I'm happy to say that unlike my experience with the first two movies, I really enjoyed this one. "The Royal Tenenbaums" is an amusing, quirky, interesting movie that I like a lot.
One thing I need to say, though, is that it's not a VERY funny movie. It's not a knee-slapping, non-stop hilarious, rolling in the aisles kinda funny. It's an amusing funny. It's a very, very amusing movie, the kind that keeps you smiling throughout. A laugh or two may escape, but for the most part, you'll do a lotta smiling. It's that kinda movie.
I really like the script by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson. It's unique in the way it tells the story, and I like it. It's different, but not TOO different to the point of being jarring in an unpleasant way. As for the directing, Wes Anderson directs very similar in style to how he directed "Bottle Rocket" and "Rushmore," but I never had a problem with that. In fact, I like it a lot. My problem with the first two movies was that the stories weren't all that interesting to me. Sure, each movie had quirky moments that I liked, but they weren't enough for me to like the movies. With "The Royal Tenenbaums," it seems as though they finally came up with the perfect basic story to build on. I should also mention that the songs selected for the movie are great. I may not like every single song by themselves, but within the context of the movie, they work perfectly.
The cast is very impressive. Gene Hackman (perhaps not coincidentally, he co-starred in "Behind Enemy Lines" with Owen Wilson, the co-writer and one of the castmembers of this movie) leads the pack as "Royal Tenenbaum" himself. Gene Hackman is great as usual. His role is more lighthearted than the usual roles he's offered. Anjelica Huston (she was the wicked stepmother in "Ever After") plays his ex-wife, "Etheline Tenenbaum." Then there are the kids. Gwyneth Paltrow, who's excellent in this movie, plays "Margot Tenenbaum." Ben Stiller, who has been in a couple of movies with Owen Wilson, plays "Chas Tenenbaum." Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson's brother in real life, plays "Richie Tenenbaum." As for Owen Wilson himself, he plays a family friend (a Tenenbaum wanna-be) named "Eli Cash." Danny Glover is also in the movie, and he has a great character to work with. He plays an extremely likable guy named "Henry Sherman." Strangely enough, Danny Glover was in a movie called "Bat 21" with Gene Hackman a while back, a movie very similar to "Behind Enemy Lines." Anyway, Bill Murray, who was great in "Rushmore," is also in this movie, though his role is pretty small. Kumar Pallana, an actor whose only other acting roles are in "Rushmore" and "Bottle Rocket," plays a character named "Pagoda." He's funny. He doesn't do much, but that's okay. Just him standing there is funny. Finally, the movie is narrated by Alec Baldwin. Not a really tough acting job, but he did good nevertheless. Everyone in this movie did great. The acting was as simple and as quirky as was necessary.
"The Royal Tenenbaums" has a few moments that are kinda stupid, and it moves slowly at times, so it's not exactly perfect. But I really enjoyed it, and it made me happy watching it.
Scale of 1-10: 8