Royal Tenenbaums

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Back when I was perusing internet discussions about Magnolia, I found that the movie most often mentioned in the same breath was The Royal Tenenbaums. After adding it to my Netflix queue, receiving the DVD, and then letting it sit on my goddamn coffee table for two months at the rate of $22.95 a month, I finally watched it today.

Here are the similarities:

1. Lots of characters.
2. Most of them are miserable losers.
3. A couple of them are not.
4. An old man dying of cancer attempts to reconnect and reconcile with his family.
5. There is a quick-zoom-in shot of a child's face once.

Here are the differences:

1. RT is intended to be a comedy.
2. M is intended to be a drama.
3. RT does not totally succeed.
4. M does.
5. RT has a dog, a bird, and a few mice. And a turtle.
6. M has several dogs and a lot of frogs. No turtle.

I mean, it was well made, sure. The acting was fine. I watched the whole thing thinking, "yeah, I guess this is all good", but since I didn't remotely care about any of the characters, and the story was totally uncompelling or interesting in any way, and because people actually had the audacity to compare this movie to Magnolia, I basically couldn't wait for it to end.

Which, now that I think about it, is exactly how I felt watching Rushmore, the previous movie from director Wes Anderson. I guess he's satisfied to make "clever" movies which utterly fail to touch the audience on an emotional level.

Oh well. I guess I'll give this movie two and a quarter stars. Here:

**1/4

[Asks too much]

I demand an actual graphic of one fourth of an asterisk.

[Vitriola]

Never saw RT, but you didn't get touched in any sort of special place for Rushmore? For real? Intesting. Wrong, but interesting...

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In all fairness to myself, I barely remember it. In all UNFAIRNESS to the movie, there's probably a reason I barely remember it.

Hey, everyone in life should have an Anderson. You can have Wes, I'll take P.T.

[Debaser]

Never saw RT, but you didn't get touched in any sort of special place for Rushmore? For real? Intesting. Wrong, but interesting...

Waitaminute... you were touched by Rushmore? I mean, I liked the movie fine when I rented it, and don't change the channel when it comes on Comedy Central, but I think Ben's analysis here is pretty spot on.

Of course, to me, that was always rather the point. The two leads in Rushmore were both so overly thoughtful that you get the feeling they less fell in love than that they talked themselves into love. You don't connect with them, because even once you reach the happy ending, they don't connect, period. It's not in their natures.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

In all fairness to myself, I barely remember it. In all UNFAIRNESS to the movie, there's probably a reason I barely remember it.

Hey, everyone in life should have an Anderson. You can have Wes, I'll take P.T.

I will take "Jon," the singer from Yes. Whose body of work puts these other two clowns to shame.

[Roody_Yogurt]

What I love about 'the Royal Tenenbaums' is that while jokes are being made, the film is still sympathetic to its characters that I don't think that the actual intention is for us to laugh, so it's that crazy levity/darkness mix that I completely dig in movies. Of course, I found the characters all likeable in their own way, so we definitely differ there. I'd have to say that I prefer 'the Royal Tenenbaums' to 'Magnolia.'

For me, I was noncommital about Rushmore at first but I enjoy it more every time I see it.

[pinback]

I'd have to say that I prefer 'the Royal Tenenbaums' to 'Magnolia.'

Roody, we've been through a lot, and I like you, I like your humor, and I respect you not only as a friend, a fellow BBS member, and fellow writer, but as a human being. So please, I do hope you don't take this the wrong way:

BANNED like a MOTHERFUCKER.