No, I am not in the movie biz, advertising biz, marketing biz, or any other vocation where I have to sell something to the general public. However, I would be interested in knowing the demographics of the people who posted comments to The Royal Tenenbaums.
The comments are either "Wow, this is the best movie of the year" or "This is not funny. Go and see Joe Somebody / Joe Dirt." One commentor remarked that people in the audience "over 35" were laughing while the commentor and his/her friends were debating whether to leave early. Another commentor was perplexed that Bill Murray, who was so good in "Scrooged" and "What About Bob," was so dull in The Royal Tenenbaums. (No mention of "Stripes", "Ghostbusters," "Caddyshack" or "The Razor's Edge.") On the other hand, other commentators have compared the characters in The Royal Tenenbaums to characters in James Joyce novels.
My personal theory, is that people expecting a belly-laugh, situational comedy are going to be severely disappointed by The Royal Tenenbaums. There are no scenes where Gene Hackman has intercourse with an apple pie, where Gwenth Paltrow mistakes ejaculate for hair gel, where Ben Stiller slips on a banana peel and falls face first into a wedding cake, where Danny Glover falls into an open hole....wait, that does happen. In other words, The Royal Tenenbaums, is not the typical Hollywood, mass audience comedy. The demographic groups that see "American Pie," "Ace Ventura," "Something About Mary," and "King Pin" are not going to like The Royal Tenenbaums. NOTE: This is not to deride these films; they are funny. However it is a different style of humor.
People expecting to find humor in dialogue, plot, character, and in subtle interaction of script, director, and actor will find the Royal Tenenbaums sublimely satisfying. For example, the narrator's line, "Right after Royal said those words, he realized he meant them...." Is brilliant. Of course, people expecting to see Gene Hackman lust after a pie, may miss the joke......
The comments are either "Wow, this is the best movie of the year" or "This is not funny. Go and see Joe Somebody / Joe Dirt." One commentor remarked that people in the audience "over 35" were laughing while the commentor and his/her friends were debating whether to leave early. Another commentor was perplexed that Bill Murray, who was so good in "Scrooged" and "What About Bob," was so dull in The Royal Tenenbaums. (No mention of "Stripes", "Ghostbusters," "Caddyshack" or "The Razor's Edge.") On the other hand, other commentators have compared the characters in The Royal Tenenbaums to characters in James Joyce novels.
My personal theory, is that people expecting a belly-laugh, situational comedy are going to be severely disappointed by The Royal Tenenbaums. There are no scenes where Gene Hackman has intercourse with an apple pie, where Gwenth Paltrow mistakes ejaculate for hair gel, where Ben Stiller slips on a banana peel and falls face first into a wedding cake, where Danny Glover falls into an open hole....wait, that does happen. In other words, The Royal Tenenbaums, is not the typical Hollywood, mass audience comedy. The demographic groups that see "American Pie," "Ace Ventura," "Something About Mary," and "King Pin" are not going to like The Royal Tenenbaums. NOTE: This is not to deride these films; they are funny. However it is a different style of humor.
People expecting to find humor in dialogue, plot, character, and in subtle interaction of script, director, and actor will find the Royal Tenenbaums sublimely satisfying. For example, the narrator's line, "Right after Royal said those words, he realized he meant them...." Is brilliant. Of course, people expecting to see Gene Hackman lust after a pie, may miss the joke......