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Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson provided some of the biggest laughs of the evening during the Oscar 2002 broadcast. The two pretended to get into a shouting match when, after Wilson defended the Academy´s insistence on having them wear costumes from "Harry Potter 1" and "The Lord of the Rings 1", Stiller called Wilson a "company man" since Wilson was nominated for co-scripting "The Royal Tenenbaums". Wilson responded by asking Stiller if the latter seriously thought that "Zoolander" had any chance of being nominated for anything. Their hilarious bit ended with Stiller stomping off-camera while Wilson yelled, "Producer! Director! Actor! Quitter!" in a sarcastic nod to Stiller´s versatility as a filmmaker.
Both gentlemen appeared in "Zoolander" as well as "The Royal Tenenbaums". Despite their real-life friendship, they frequently get involved in on-screen tussles. In "Tenenbaums", Wilson plays Eli Cash, a fellow who grew up across the street from the Tenenbaum family. He always envied the genius-level achievements of the Tenenbaum children, and as a best-selling novelist when he grows up, he develops a drug habit, culminating in crashing his car into the Tenenbaum residence and killing Chas´s (Ben Stiller) dog. This incident sends Chas over an emotional edge, and Chas in turn throws Eli over a brick wall into the Japanese ambassador´s residence next door.
Neither Chas nor Eli is the focus of "The Royal Tenenbaums", however. Rather, the film is about all of the Tenenbaums. There´s Royal (Gene Hackman), the family patriarch who´s been living by himself in a hotel for the past 20 years. There´s Etheline (Angelica Huston), separated but not divorced from Royal but considering marrying Henry Sherman (Danny Glover), her accountant. Then there are the 3 children. Chas, a child finance whiz, conducts random fire drills and makes his 2 sons wear bright red track suits for visibility´s sake because he´s distraught over losing his wife in an airplane crash. Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), a successful child playwright, now sits in a bathtub all day, worrying her psychologist husband Raleigh St. Clair (Bill Murray). Richie (Luke Wilson, brother of Owen), a tennis prodigy, self-destructed in a championship game by committing more than 70 unforced errors, taking off his shoes and socks, serving underhand, and losing 6-0, 6-0, 6-0. There´s also Pagoda, a family servant so faithful that he tells Royal that Henry proposed to Etheline despite the fact that Royal hasn´t really been a part of the family for most of the children´s lives.
Disbarred (forbidden to practice law) and broke, Royal concocts an elaborate ruse. He tells his family that he´s about to die from cancer so that he can move back into the family house. Everyone resents him, of course, most especially Chas and Margot. You see, Royal would always take Richie on father-son outings (mostly to gamble on dog-fights), and Royal always introduced Margot to his friends as "my adopted daughter". The children are also mired in their own quagmires. They simply peaked too early in life, and they´ve been adrift due to their inability to cope with their fall from glory. They´re in no condition to be receptive to Royal´s attempts to reconcile with them.
Helmed by "Rushmore"-director Wes Anderson and co-scripted by Anderson and Owen Wilson, "The Royal Tenenbaums" plays like a series of snapshots, which is fitting since the characters are so dissociated from one another. The children had too much talent too young, and they never had the opportunity to adjust to their greatness. Eli has had to live in his friends´ shadows, and sudden commercial (but not critical) success has caused him to forget who he is. However, despite the fact that they loathe Royal, his presence works like therapy for Chas, Margot, and Richie. The 3 younger Tenenbaums have also moved back into their childhood home in the hopes that their mother can comfort them. While living together again for the first time in 17 years, the children work out the kinks in their relationships. Unresolved sibling issues are responsible for a large part of the Tenenbaums´ catatonia.
Though not nominated for an Oscar, Gene Hackman received a Golden Globe Award (Best Actor--Comedy) for his performance as Royal Tenenbaum. Hackman does his best work as an irascible, irritable rascal, and he hasn´t been this touching or effective in years. His character and his acting form the glue that holds this ensemble piece together. The other actors all do a fine job, often touching upon the hilarious, the tragic, and the transcendent all at once.
However, one of the film´s major weaknesses is that it tackles too much in too little time. "The Royal Tenenbaums" runs a shade under 2 hours, and not enough time is given to each character for them to make individual impacts on the viewer. Thus, it´s easy to see the children´s collective states as a group failure rather than personal mishaps. Also, rather than showing us how the Tenenbaum family reached its sorry condition, we´re simply told that younger generation has lost its way. Okay, sure, Richie had a total breakdown on the tennis court because Margot got married the day before the match, but surely, some other things in life must´ve gotten him down?
The undeniably literate script (from the undeniably well-read, well-informed, and intelligent Anderson/Wilson team) points at influences from a number of cultural sources. Therefore, the film offers a rich flavor all-too-rare in contemporary cinema. As I wrote, though, the filmmakers condense too many things into a movie that could´ve been at least half an hour longer. The material needs breathing room in order to take full effect--the funny moments would´ve had bigger payoffs, and the pathos would´ve hit harder.
Video:
From what I understand, movies filmed with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio are commonly projected as 2.40:1 compositions in theatres. The DVD release of "The Royal Tenenbaums" sports a 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen video transfer. I don´t have any major complaints about the video quality of the DVD release. Once in a while, the usual specks or slight shimmering appear, but the video generally pleases the eye. I would´ve liked the print to have been a shade brighter than it is, but this is a fine transfer.
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[release]10332[/release]