 Movie
Reviews
with Evelyn Gough
The Royal Tenenbaums (MA)
Directed by
Wes Anderson
Written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
 Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman, right) takes his grandchildren, Uzi (Jonah Meyerson, left) and Ari (Grant Rosenmeyer, center background), for a day outside of the watchful eye of their overprotective father.
Once upon a time there was a father called Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman). He was married to an archaeologist called. Etheline (Anjelica Huston) and they had three children, Chas (Aram Aslanian-Persico), Margot (Irene Gorovaia) and Richie (Amades Turturro) who all just happened to be geniuses.
Chas was a financial whiz, Margot was a playwright who received a fifty thousand dollar Grant in the ninth grade and Richie was a junior champion tennis player. Then they grew up....
Narrated by Alec Baldwin this off-beat black comedy by writer/director Wes Anderson (Rushmore) about a hopelessly dysfunctional and eccentric family won't appeal to everyone. But if quirky works for you (and one of your favourite movies just happens to be Hotel New Hampshire about an equally screwed up family) then The Royal Tenenbaums should be right up your alley.
As is most often the case it's the parents who the kids blame for all their problems (right, Mum and Dad?!) and in this case the adult Chas (Ben Stiller), Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Richie (Luke Wilson) all blame their father Royal who moved out of the family home 22 years ago.
Now destitute and with nowhere to live, Royal devises a devishly wicked plan to weasle his way back into their lives. But he doesn't count on Henry Sherman (Danny Glover), the family accountant and Etheline's suitor who is justifiably suspicious of Royal and determined to prove that he is up to no good...
If you're bored with Hollywood blockbusters and want a change from feel-good schmaltz, then I'd recommend this twisted family fairytale. The cast is fantastic, (Owen Wilson and Bill Murray also co-star) and while the story is a tad disjointed its far from predictable and certainly entertaining. And the soundtrack is F.A.B.
Rating: 
(I'm taking off half a star for killing off Buckley the beagle!)
|
