| Touchstone Pictures - American Empirical Pictures, 2001 | Runtime: 109 minutes | Rated R |
| Starring Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Danny Glover, Bill Murray | ||
| Written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson | Directed by Wes Anderson | |
Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums" is a strange movie. But that
peculiarity is part of its charm. It presents us with odd characters in odd
situations and examines them thoroughly with a smart screenplay, resulting in
a funny, moving, and overall beautiful portrait of a family of geniuses that,
over time, leaves the genius part behind.
Gene Hackman plays Royal Tenenbaum, the family patriarch. Royal left home
twenty-two years ago, never properly divorcing his wife, Etheline (Anjelica
Huston), but nonetheless leaving their three prodigal children--Chas, Margot,
and Richie--for her to raise. Chas (Ben Stiller) was a master of finance who
also raised dalmatian mice. Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) was the Tenenbaums'
adopted daughter (Royal made sure to note this whenever introducing her to
people) who wrote a vast library of plays by the age of 12. Richie (Luke
Wilson) was a tennis champion, turning professional at age 17.
All the children have grown into adult shut-ins. Chas has been excessively
concerned with his sons' safety after the death of his wife in a plane crash.
Margot spends six hours a day in the bathroom, smoking most of the time (she
had kept her habit a secret since starting at age 12). Richie dropped out of
professional tennis after one disastrous match (a magazine cover reads
"meltdown" in big letters) and now spends all of his time feeling lonely and
pining over his own sister.
Ever since Royal left, he's been living in a hotel on credit. When his
credit runs out and he discovers he's broke, he is kicked out of the hotel
and gets a place to stay by convincing Etheline that he is dying. All the
children return to the Tenenbaum estate. Margot and Richie are mildly
sympathetic. Chas is completely bitter, seemingly because Royal shot him
with a BB gun when he was young and the BB is still lodged between two
knuckles in his hand.
There are a whole bunch of interesting and memorable characters here,
including Eli Cash (Owen Wilson), Richie's best friend who has become a
mediocre novelist; Raliegh St. Clair (Bill Murray), Margot's husband who
knows as little about her as the rest of the Tenenbaums; Henry Sherman (Danny
Glover), Etheline's accountant who suddenly asks her to marry him; Pagoda
(Kumar Pallana), Royal's servant who spies on Etheline and informs Royal
about Henry Sherman's intentions; Dudley Heinsbergen (Stephen Lea Sheppard),
Raliegh St. Clair's strange experiment; and Dusty (Seymour Cassel), a bellhop
at Royal's hotel who poses as a doctor when Royal informs his family of his
phony illness.
There are many laughs in "The Royal Tenenbaums," but there are also moments
of sadness and melancholia. Take for instance a scene where Richie tries to
commit suicide. This dark scene is followed closely by a scene in the
hospital where Chas asks Richie about his suicide note. "Is it dark?" asks
Chas. "Of course it's dark," answers Richie, "it's a suicide note." Scenes
like these make "The Royal Tenenbaums" into one of the most perfectly crafted
comedy/dramas ever made. It is one of few that knows how to do both at the
same time without having one outweigh the other.
Not everyone will like "The Royal Tenenbaums." Some will find it too
strange, while others will find it too slow. I don't really think that the
latter is true, nor do I think that the former is so much of a bad thing.
The film's peculiarity makes it unique. It's true that it isn't fast-paced,
but if it went any faster, it would risk having the feeling that it was
trying to rush through its own story, that it was trying to get it over with
before it was necessary. It's just my opinion, but I think that everything
in this film, including the pacing, is perfect.
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