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Film Description
Oscar-nominated comedy about an oddball New York family of former child geniuses from writer-director Wes Anderson. Before their marriage floundered, Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) and his wife Etheline (Angelica Huston) succeeded in raising three prodigies: business supremo Chas (Ben Stiller), prize-winning playwright Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) and tennis champion Richie (Luke Wilson). Now, after years of separation, and with the children grown-up and the memory of their prodigy faded, Royal returns to his family and tries to make amends. However, with Royal's history of lies and betrayal, his offspring - who all now have problems of their own - are going to have trouble welcoming him back.
Anderson's quirky comedy of a massively dysfuntional family who are all geniuses stands toweringly high over it's American peers. Think Woody Allen meets Hal Hartley but with more laughs. Superb.
The Royal Tenenbaums on DVD is a wonderful watch for many reasons – not least for a fascinating supplementary documentary by Albert Maysles on its director Wes Anderso... more >
The Royal Tenenbaums on DVD is a wonderful watch for many reasons – not least for a fascinating supplementary documentary by Albert Maysles on its director Wes Anderson. Maysles employs the same unobtrusive documentary style that was so effective in the recently released Christo & Jean Claude and reveals the meticulous detail Anderson instils in the film's production and its characters. From the murals on the walls to the hand-drawn family portraits and specially designed carpets and wallpapers, Anderson has painstakingly devised the entire Tenenbaum world and filled it with
marvellous eccentricities.
The film itself is presented in the form of chapters from the biography of The Royal Tenenbaums – a family of former child geniuses and their estranged father Royal - a wretched, pathetic but perfect Gene Hackman. Anderson's direction creates the nostalgia of a family album as the lives of the various Tenenbaums are showcased in glorious retro. Luke Wilson's Björn Borg-esque tennis star has a meltdown in front of the world, removing his shoes and one of his socks at the US Finals and the snogging career of Gwynneth Paltrow's chain-smoking playwright Margot gets a Ramones-scored flashback. In fact, the film is worth watching for the soundtrack alone: Nico, John Lennon and The Velvet Underground compliment the warmth of Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson's writing and add effectively to the affectionate nostalgia of this wonderfully odd comedy. < less
The Royal Tenenbaums on DVD is a wonderful watch for many reasons – not least for a fascinating supplementary documentary by Albert Maysles on its director Wes Anderso... more >
The Royal Tenenbaums on DVD is a wonderful watch for many reasons – not least for a fascinating supplementary documentary by Albert Maysles on its director Wes Anderson. Maysles employs the same unobtrusive documentary style that was so effective in the recently released Christo & Jean Claude and reveals the meticulous detail Anderson instils in the film's production and its characters. From the murals on the walls to the hand-drawn family portraits and specially designed carpets and wallpapers, Anderson has painstakingly devised the entire Tenenbaum world and filled it with
marvellous eccentricities.
The film itself is presented in the form of chapters from the biography of The Royal Tenenbaums – a family of former child geniuses and their estranged father Royal - a wretched, pathetic but perfect Gene Hackman. Anderson's direction creates the nostalgia of a family album as the lives of the various Tenenbaums are showcased in glorious retro. Luke Wilson's Björn Borg-esque tennis star has a meltdown in front of the world, removing his shoes and one of his socks at the US Finals and the snogging career of Gwynneth Paltrow's chain-smoking playwright Margot gets a Ramones-scored flashback. In fact, the film is worth watching for the soundtrack alone: Nico, John Lennon and The Velvet Underground compliment the warmth of Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson's writing and add effectively to the affectionate nostalgia of this wonderfully odd comedy. < less
