The Tenenbaum children are exceptional—Chas is a young business genius, Margot is an accomplished playwright, and Richie is a tennis prodigy. Their parents, Royal and Etheline, separate.
Flash forward 22 years, and the Tenenbaums are in disarray. Royal is evicted from the hotel where he lives. Chas lost his wife in an accident and has become fearful and obsessive. Margot sulks in a loveless marriage. Richie had an on-court meltdown and lives on a cruise ship. And Etheline—who is newly engaged to accountant Henry Sherman and is doing rather well—inherits everyones problems when each Tenenbaum moves back home for various reasons. Stuck together for the first time in years, the estranged family’s anxieties, rage, and love bubbles to the surface. Each person must confront the feelings they’ve carried for decades and in a silly story about repair, reawakening, and redemption.
I really liked this film. It was witty, charming, awkward, and styled all—well, Wes Andersony. In addition to the visuals, I love Anderson’s pacing. It’s hard to explain, but when he wants the film to move, it moves. And when he wants you to live in a moment, you just steep in it for a bit. The cast was naturally top notch, with the obvious props going to Gene Hackman’s Royal. I wasn’t always “laughing out out” (although I did), but the film’s comedy is the kind you just find yourself smirking at. I really how the film plays with ‘peaking in your childhood’. As a millennial and as a pessimist, the notion that your best days are behind you is resonant and gives the film wings. Yet as a pragmatist and someone nostalgic for connection, the message of trusting your gut and leaning on your family (even if they’ve pained you) to find some semblance of peace was up-lifting. And as someone who knows he has the capacity to be a jerk (sometimes?), Royal’s redemption arc was strangely assuring. My favorite line?:
“I’ve always been considered an asshole for about as long as I can remember. That’s just my style. But I’d feel really blue if I didn’t think you were going to forgive me.”
“I don’t think you’re an asshole, Royal. I just think you’re kind of a son of a bitch.”
“Well, I really appreciate that.”