Royal Tenenbaums
For Wes Anderson, this film is a HUGE step up in quality from the dismal and overrated Rushmore. The opening minutes build a rhythm rarely seen in today’s films, letting you know this is going to be something good. Gene Hackman is truly the star of the show amongst the ensemble cast, getting the biggest laughs and the best moments. Nonetheless, the script by Anderson and Owen Wilson allows the others to have some fine character moments, adding up to a cohesive whole. The supporting players are a bit of a mixed bag though: Anjelica Huston is prim and proper, but never gets the big scene that allows her character to cut loose, Owen Wilson is suitably ditsy and amusing playing a character that’s SUPPOSED to be drugged out, Ben Stiller is one-note and one-dimensional until the end (why he wears the same corny red jogging suit in every scene when he’s supposed to be a mogul is beyond me), Gwyneth Paltrow is incredibly morose and amazingly sexy, Danny Glover gets a couple of good scenes with Hackman but otherwise has little to do, Bill Murray is basically wasted, and Luke Wilson gives a career-best performance as the depressed son. In the end though, it’s Hackman’s show, and he holds the whole thing together like an expensive glue. Why he wasn’t considered for any major acting awards is beyond me. Outside of an unneeded bit of animal cruelty, the final 20 minutes is pretty damm hilarious, and the film is funny and touching without being cloying, further proof that Anderson has matured as an artist…
8/10