Release Date:
12/14/2001
There’s “Funny—Ha, Ha, ” there’s “Funny—Strange,” and then there’s “Funny—Wes Anderson.” The director and co-writer (with actor Owen Wilson) of the underrated Bottle Rocket and the genius Rushmore has an odd sense of humor to say the least—it’s almost impossible to explain why his movies are so funny. Maybe it’s the deadpan characters, the mock seriousness, or the hand-grenade jokes (pull the pin, wait a few seconds…Oh! Hey, that was funny!), but we found ourselves chuckling through his latest, The Royal Tenenbaums, from start to finish.
The story of a family of eccentric New York geniuses—a playwright (Gwyneth Paltrow), a financial whiz (Ben Stiller), and a pro tennis player (Luke Wilson)—raised by their archeologist mom (Angelica Huston) and utterly disrupted by the return of their wayward father (Gene Hackman), Tenebaums is the movie Woody Allen and Ed Burns wish they could make. Although straight-faced supporting characters played by Bill Murray (again showing off the acting chops that prompted the hail of his “return” Rushmore), Seymour Cassell, and Danny “I’m Too Old for This Shit” Glover are great, the movie really proves once again that Hackman is one of the greatest actors of all time. OK, OK, so maybe we’re waxing Anderson’s car a little, but can you name another director who’s gone three-for-three like he has?
(Editor’s Note: That’s a rhetorical question, so stop writing that friggin’ e-mail right now.)
The story of a family of eccentric New York geniuses—a playwright (Gwyneth Paltrow), a financial whiz (Ben Stiller), and a pro tennis player (Luke Wilson)—raised by their archeologist mom (Angelica Huston) and utterly disrupted by the return of their wayward father (Gene Hackman), Tenebaums is the movie Woody Allen and Ed Burns wish they could make. Although straight-faced supporting characters played by Bill Murray (again showing off the acting chops that prompted the hail of his “return” Rushmore), Seymour Cassell, and Danny “I’m Too Old for This Shit” Glover are great, the movie really proves once again that Hackman is one of the greatest actors of all time. OK, OK, so maybe we’re waxing Anderson’s car a little, but can you name another director who’s gone three-for-three like he has?
(Editor’s Note: That’s a rhetorical question, so stop writing that friggin’ e-mail right now.)