The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Directed by Wes Anderson

Starring : Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson

Comedy ~ Drama

The Tenenbaum siblings, three child prodigies. Chas, portrayed by Ben Stiller, used to be a maths and business genius. Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), who is adopted -as Royal keeps pointing out- an excellent playwright and Richie (Luke Wilson) an aspiring artist and a tennis prodigy.
However, after their father, Royal (Gene Hackman) abandons them during their teenage years, they are lead to failure and great disappointment.

22 years later though, after Royal gets kicked out of the hotel he is staying in, he tries to move back in with his wife, Etheline (Anjelica Huston) by announcing that he is suffering by a terminal illness. All three children (well, adults now) come back home in order to be with their father for the last time and.. things happen. I think I've said enough.


So that's not a really good summary of the film, but this is my first post, so I think it is forgivable. I also apologise for my English. It may not be top-notch, but I am trying my best. Anyway. I shall just go on about the film. Sorry about this.

Having only seen Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox and the trailer for his new film, Moonrise Kingdom, which is coming out in 2012, I decided to watch some of his films and started with this one in particular as it had caught my eye in the past, but for some reason hadn't wanted to see it as I thought it would just be a stupid comedy. However, I can assure you that The Royal Tenenbaums is far from that. Filled with a great soundtrack, featuring several well-known songs, it is a truly beautiful film full of details. I'm sure next time I see it, when I will already know what's going on, I'll be able to appreciate it a bit more, as each scene is just wonderfully put together.

Even though this film is classified as a comedy, it's not your every-day comedy. Don't expect to see it and just burst out laughing all the time. Well, at least I don't think you will. It's one of those films with a darker kind of comedy that makes you smile and feel good and laugh once in a while. However, it is not entirely happy as most characters, well all of them actually, have some serious issues.



Okay, I don't know what else to write right now, so I'll just stop. I don't know if I'll be rating films yet, but if yes, I'm giving it 4 stars.

(★ - awful, ★★ - bad, ★★★ - okay, ★★★★ - great, ★★★★★ - masterpiece)