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Directed by: Wes Anderson Starring: Gene Hackman, Luke Wilson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anjelica Huston The Royal Tenenbaums is a story about a dysfunctional family, a group that in its better years was a famous family of super geniuses, but at the present time sees each child having some serious difficulties. The film opens with short, funny segments introducing each character growing up, and then the film really begins as the now adult kids move back home. Gene Hackman, the father and most central character, has long ago split up with his wife, Huston, and is a primary reason for many of his children's problems. Hackman's character is very unique and engaging, like all the characters in the film. As he fakes illness to move back into the old family home with the rest of the crowd he sets the plot moving, and each quirky character develops and goes through their own trials. There are frequent subtle jokes, dark humor and regular laughs. This is an off-beat comedy that is most appealing because of its characters, and that gets dramatic and serious without surrendering to sentimentality. This movie has a superb cast, beyond the stars I've mentioned. This movie has an outstanding soundtrack, using music very effectively at key times. Fast Luck fucked around with this message at 00:31 on May 3, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 00:06
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While this is a solid film, it seems that Anderson is already repeating himself. The Tenenbaum clan seems to be a composite of his own personality, much like Max was in Rushmore, but with each character assuming a seperate face of his character, giving them each substantially less to develop. Some of the characters were really interesting, but others appeared to be just tried and true archetypes (Stiller and Owen Wilson in particular) with little behind them. I could also do without the "slow motion + obscure pop music = print" style of directing that Anderson uses so often. The concept behind Wilson's book about General Custard was brilliant though. I can't remember laughing harder at a single line in a long time.
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May 3, 2004 00:17
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This is one of my favorite movies of all time. The characters are all interesting in their own rights, and the movie just has a really good feel to it. The narration by Alec Baldwin keeps the storyline evolving, and the music is incredible. Owen Wilson co-wrote it, which makes him more impressive to me as a hollywood force to be reckoned with. There's great dialogue, and Gene Hackman is just outstanding. 5/5
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May 3, 2004 00:36
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I saw this movie in the theatre with high expectations, and came out somewhat disappointed. I was a fan of Rushmore, however, I found this movie to lack a lot of the humor I thought it would contain, and at times I found it just plain boring. I'd give it a 3/5 being generous, I don't think that it's as great as some people say it is.
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May 3, 2004 00:48
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quote:Colt came out of the closet to say: I agree. It was marketed as a laugh-a-minute comedy, while in actuality I consider it one of the most boring films I have ever seen. It's not dry or low-key, that would be ok. There is nothing happening whatsoever.
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May 3, 2004 01:39
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I never saw it in the theaters, and I can't remember anything about the marketing, so when I saw it about a month ago for the first time, I had no expectations about what it was "supposed" to be. That said, I really love this movie. I understand the complaints about it (especially the "slow motion + obscure pop music = print" bit), but this is one of the few movies that I can truly watch just to cheer myself up. Everything past Eli crashing his car towards the end of the movie is just so incredibly good, for lack of a better term, that I can't watch it and not feel good.
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May 3, 2004 01:55
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I enjoyed the movie very much. I suppose that most people who like it are fans of Wes Anderson's other movies, as they're pretty much all the same style and if you don't like one you probably wouldn't care much for any of them. Also, Hackman was great. I'd love to watch a spinoff movie of just his character doing crazy things around the world. 5/5 Demmy fucked around with this message at 02:05 on May 3, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 02:01
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I have this DVD and it is one of my favorite Anderson movies, the cast is solid and the actor's customes really help develop the characters. 5
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May 3, 2004 02:08
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3/5. Nowhere near as good as Rushmore, it just wanders without any real point. I tend to really enjoy movies that wander around without a clear purpose, but only if they have some original and interesting ideas in them, and those are lacking here. Excellent acting however.
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May 3, 2004 02:59
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This is one of my favorite movies ever. When I first saw it I wasn't extremely impressed. Every time since then it's gotten better and better. Every character, in my opinion, is perfect, and it's hilarious all the way through. For people who didn't like it much, I suggest seeing it once or twice more. I hear it's the same for "The Big Lebowski" where it gets considerably better each time. I give it a 5/5, I could watch this movie over and over. I liked it a lot more than Rushmore, too. Edited to fix my stupid confusion. And to say I'm watching right now ^__^ The Cookie Bird fucked around with this message at 05:11 on May 3, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 03:08
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This is my second favorite movie of all time. 5/5 all day long.
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May 3, 2004 03:48
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This movie is brilliant. Anderson's best second to Rushmore. Had a badass cast and soundtrack. "We all know Custard died at Little Big Horn. What this book pre-supposes is, maybe he didn't?" 5/5
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May 3, 2004 06:29
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The trailers for this movie were the biggest lie in all of movie trailerdom. They implied this movie was funny, well written, and worth watching. It was none of these. There were perhaps two jokes in the movie, and both were shown in the trailer. It was depressing, and not in the tolerable way. Sometimes a movie can depress you, but you're fine with it because you were expecting it, since the story revolved around it. Steel Magnolias not gay was like that. This movie is depressing because you hate every character, you hate the poo poo they go through, and you hate that you spent money on it. If you didn't spend money on it, you hate that someone spent money on it. I hated this movie.
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May 3, 2004 06:50
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Kruller sums up my opinion on this one pretty well. It's one of those films you have to 'get', probably. It wasn't good at comedy, it wasn't good at drama, it wasn't good at portraying believable characters - after about an hour or so I found myself muttering 'now, get on with it' almost constantly. Everything seems to be arbitrarily thrown in just for its own sake, the little humour it has is forced, and the characters - oh God, the characters: Someone thought neurosis is entertaining in itself, obviously. Well, it isn't, it's just annoying. I couldn't care less about the exploits of a bunch of grown-up, misbehaved brats and their totally dislikeable parents. Sorry. One extra point for effort on the side of the cast. 2/5
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May 3, 2004 13:14
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I saw this in the middle of one those 'movie-marathon' deals, and I was eagerly awaiting some Stiller/Wilson comedy. I was bitterly disappointed; I thought the movie was extremely tedious and bereft of anything redeeming. However, I think that with repeated viewings, and a drastically lowered sense of expectation, I could learn to like this movie. 2/5
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May 3, 2004 13:34
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Kruller says it all. No, I don't think you have to watch this. Extra point for the cast and the two or three good jokes in the whole movie. 2/5
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May 3, 2004 14:17
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Such a good film. One of those movies that you can constantly pull good quotes out of. I hate to use this as reasoning, but saying you only saw two or three jokes shows you really didn't get it. The dialog was very clever and laced with many jokes as long as you were paying attention. I also love the environment of the film, everything has this great look to it. This post could quickly turn into me just quoting all the hilarious lines, so I'll just leave with: Royal O'Reilly Tenenbaum (1932-2001) Died Tragically Rescuing His Family From The Remains Of A Destroyed Sinking Battleship 5/5 Easy (And as far as Anderson films I've seen, I would put this above Bottle Rocket, but below Rushmore)
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May 3, 2004 14:55
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I have to agree with The Dave on this one. I'm really not one to say "If you didn't like it, you didn't get it" because obviously it's about opinion. But I think this is sort of the case for this movie. There are jokes in pretty much every other line. I mean it's fine to not like the movie or if your sense of humor is completely different or whatever. I just think this is the one movie where I'd say if you hated it and didn't see more than a few jokes, you just didn't get it. :/ Seriously though, when i first saw it I was kind of bored, didn't really get it, didn't really know what people were laughing at. Every time since then I've caught another joke that I never noticed. It's funnier every time. And the whole 'unbelievable' characters thing is intentional. It's supposed to be like a story book. Notice how they always wear the same clothes?
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May 4, 2004 13:44
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Definitely not as great as it's been made out to be, however, it has solid acting throughout and Gene Hackman entertains. Nice script, but definitely not a comedy, more a dark drama than anything else. Worth the watch.
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May 4, 2004 13:52
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I didn't care for the characters at all, much less anything that they went through. I really didn't find any humor value in any of the movie except for the very last scene. Even then, it sure didn't make up for the long drawn out nothingness that makes up this movie. I have a hard time believing that people actually liked this film... To each, his own I guess. Voted 2.0/5 because there's a lot of movies that are much worse than this. All Rights Reserved, All Wrongs Deserved!
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May 4, 2004 23:58
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I greatly enjoyed this movie. I particularily enjoyed the soundtrack, particularily "These Days" by Nico, and "Judy is a Punk", both of which helped set up Margot's character.
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May 5, 2004 00:05
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quote:The Cookie Bird came out of the closet to say: Personally, I connected with all of the characters in one way or another, and I thought the movie was hilarious and moving. This movie turned me into a huge Wes Anderson fan. Also, the soundtrack is brilliant, featuring two of my favorite artists of all time, Elliott Smith and Nick Drake, as well as a strange and beautiful original score. A wonderful movie that I watch often, but not for everyone, I guess. 5/5
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May 5, 2004 01:26
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I hated this movie. "Oh look, a bunch of kooky character with kooky character quirks are interacting with each other!" I also hated Rushmore.
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May 5, 2004 01:29
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quote:Lowtax came out of the closet to say: Yeah I didnt get it either, did the book sweep the boring awards in Antarctica or something? I gave this movie a chance, watched it from begining to end, and found it to be one of the lamest movies I saw in 2002. If you want dysfunctional family drama, rent Happiness.
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May 5, 2004 02:16
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quote:elister came out of the closet to say: Happiness is a completely different movie, not even in the same neighborhood at RT....Royal Tenebaums is a movie tailored to a certain niche, and i'm definetly in that niche. 5/5
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May 5, 2004 02:35
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I hated this movie the first time I watched it, so much that I turned it off about forty minutes into it. I did the same thing to Zoolander during the gasoline fight scene. One day, bored, I gave Zoolander another try and was laughing my loving rear end off at every single scene. That done, I gave this one another shot as well. Absolutely hilarious - it's just a very dry and calm humor that doesn't scream "PUNCHLINE!" at you. In that way, it's a little like Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.
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May 5, 2004 06:52
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Excellent soundtrack, excellent acting, and somewhere in between Christopher Guest and reality. 4.5
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May 16, 2004 05:34
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completely not what i expected but still a very good film. almost would consider it a drama more than a comedy though, even with the funny parts.
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May 16, 2004 06:50
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Frighteningly brilliant. 5/5
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May 16, 2004 08:52
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I'm probably in the minority, but I actually like this better than Rushmore. I tend to associate Rushmore with people who thought Catcher In The Rye was the best book EVER in high school, and I didn't like that either. I don't actually dislike Rushmore, though. I just don't think it's as good as everyone says it is (aside from Bill Murry). I truly believe that Wes Anderson has been progressively getting better since Bottle Rocket, which means I can't wait to see his next movie (I'm assuming he's going to make another one, I don't actually know). Royal Tenenbaums, though, is one of my favorite movies. The whole film is sooo dry, even in the camera work, which is why I think a lot of people dislike it. You could say the shots are uninteresting, or static, but I think in this case it just adds to the tone of the movie overall. The "jokes" aren't really L.O.L. funny, but again, that's just another style of humor. Punch Drunk Love is a movie I would recommend to someone who likes Royal Tenenbaums. And like RT, PDL takes a comedian known for over the top slap stick (Sandler/Stiller) and puts them in a very different role than we're used to seeing. 5/5
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May 17, 2004 01:15
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It's almost never a bad movie when Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are both in it. It's humor is perfect for the tone of the movie, and the plot is great. I did not like Rushmore at all, yet I love this movie. 5/5
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May 17, 2004 18:54
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Wes Anderson is one of my favorite directors, and it seems he gets better with every film he makes. Bottle Rocket and Rushmore are two of my favorite films. they are insanely funny and generally entertaining to watch. I was blown away when i say the Royal Tenenbaums, who wouldve thought Anderson could outdo himself once again? rating: 5/5
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May 17, 2004 19:48
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This is one of the movies where you need an acquired taste to like. You either love this style of dark comedy or not. This is not the best that has ever been made but it was drat good with an amazing cast and a storytelling style that makes Wes Anderson one of the best and imaginative directors in the industry. 4/5
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May 18, 2004 23:17
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TRT is beautifully shot and masterfully cast. The acting is pretty drat good throughout, and the characters are all believable in their own surreal way. It has to be said again how well the soundtrack works with the movie, seeming less like a periphreal part of the film experience, and more like an integral element of it. I personally didn't find the film boring, though opinions may vary. The comedy isn't constant, but there are many funny moments ("Can he tie his own shoes? Oh, God no," "It was shortly after he said this that Royal realized he was telling the truth"). I can't really say more than it's probably in my top 5 favorite movies of all time. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes Anderson's style, or enjoys movies that strive to combine dramatic and comic elements. 5/5
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May 19, 2004 00:06
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Loved this movie 100%. Being a fan of Anderson since bottle rocket, I had high hopes for this film, and enjoyed it I did. The cast was great and the Wilson/Anderson comdey was still there. 5/5 Can't wait till the Anderson next movie comes out which, of course, stars bill murray.  That is if everything is going as planned.
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May 19, 2004 09:08
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I hate to go against the crowd, but I hated this movie. Yeah, I know, it's blasphemy. I think it was the combination of Gwenyth Paltrow and Luke Wilson (two actors that I think are hugely overrated), along with a cast of characters that were completely unappealing. I can handle movies with unlikeable characters, but I didn't find any of the ones in The Royal Tenenbaums to be interesting or identifiable at all. Even Bill Murray didn't evoke more than a yawn, and that's the first time he hasn't impressed me (but not the last -- see: Lost in Translation). I hated the characters. I hated the thin plot. I hated losing two hours of my life to watch this. Considering that Rushmore is one of my favorite movies of all time, I don't know what Wes Anderson did to make me not like The Royal Tenenbaums, but I think it's a terrible waste of film.
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May 20, 2004 03:53
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I enjoy watching Wes Anderson's films, but I can't bring myself to get excited about any of them. And it seems like that's the point, that his goal is not to make an impact on you, to not excite you, but to stir you up a bit and let you get into it as much as you want to. I'm just not compelled by his films. voted 3.0.
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May 20, 2004 05:43
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I liked it, I got it, but I didn't get much out of it. Rushmore is one of my favorite films ever so it's not like I don't like Anderson, but this just didn't engage me in the same way as Rushmore. And I can definitely see what somebody said about slow motion + obscure pop song = print. It kind of annoyed me a little too. But then again, I liked Rushmore the first time, but it took me another viewing to really love it. This one may be similar, so I'll probably pick up the DVD on ebay (it usually goes for around $10) 3.5/5
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Jun 13, 2004 19:46
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I personally thought it was a great movie, and has some excellent dark, dry humor to it. Gene Hackman is especially good in this. My only major beef was that Ben Stiller felt out of place in it: Whenever I see him in a movie, he always plays the same "Ben Stiller Generic Nervous Character," and while that at least partially fit the role of his character it still brought me out of the movie a bit when compared next to the others. 4/5.
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Jun 14, 2004 00:10
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Actually, I'm changing my review. I originally voted it 3/5, but I watched it again last night and have a completely different opinion. I really didn't like it the first time because it felt like the plot dragged and didn't go anywhere interesting, but after seeing it again I really don't think that's true. Either way, the characters are really quite interesting as is the story. 5/5 Debbie Metallica fucked around with this message at 00:10 on Jul 1, 2004 |
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Jun 14, 2004 22:39
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