Stars: Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller
Too many cooks can often spoil a broth, as too many names can often spoil a film. Not so in off-beat director Wes Anderson’s quirky tragi-comedy about a supremely dysfunctional family of super-talents turned super-bizarre.
The line-up here is enormous --- starring Gene Hackman (Enemy Of The State), Anjelica Huston (Buffalo ’66), Ben Stiller (Meet The Parents), Luke Wilson (Dog Park), Owen Wilson (The Haunting), Gwyneth Paltrow (Sliding Doors), Danny Glover (Predator II), & Bill Murray (Groundhog Day). The film is even narrated by Alec Baldwin (Mercury Rising).
What’s positive for the film is that the stars don’t clamour for top spot --- they simply carry out their roles in the most mournful, awkward & hilarious ways possible. The Royal Tenenbaum’s has more than a hint of that same style which made Buffalo ’66 such painfully pleasurable viewing. As audiences are reminded to varying degrees of their own family scenarios, they see a certain cruel hilarity about life in a difficult setting, with difficult relatives & --- with Gene Hackman --- one hell of an insensitive father.
This is a glorious take on reality, due in no small part to Anderson’s gift for the bizarre.