With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, Oceanographer Steve Zissou rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son.
The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.
Director:
Wes Anderson
Stars:
Ralph Fiennes,
F. Murray Abraham,
Mathieu Amalric
Three grown prodigies, all with a unique genius of some kind, and their mother are staying at the family household. Their father, Royal had left them long ago, and comes back to make things right with his family.Written by
MonkeyKingMA
"Sweet Afton" was Margot's brand of cigarettes. British American Tobacco ceased production of Sweet Aftons in 2011. See more »
Goofs
When Richie is seated and waiting for Margot to pick him up at the passenger ship terminal, the shot shows several sailors wearing dress white uniforms walk by behind him. After a shot of Margot, the next shot of Richie shows a porter behind him pushing a baggage cart. The sailors are nowhere to be seen. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Narrator:
Royal Tenenbaum bought the house on Archer Avenue in the winter of his 35th year. Over the next decade, he and his wife had three children, and then they separated.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The film title first appears on a library book being checked out, then several of the books are seen, and finally the book cover becomes a title card. See more »
Alternate Versions
Three different songs were used for the final sequence at various points. Some advance screenings (including the New York Film Festival version) featured the Beatles' "I'm Looking Through You" (not the "official" version, but rather the alternate version available on the "Anthology 2" CD set), while others used the Beach Boys' "Sloop John B." The final version of the scene is accompanied by Van Morrison's "Everyone." See more »
Police And Thieves
Written by Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Junior Murvin
Published by Universal-Songs of PolyGram International, Inc.
Performed by The Clash
Courtesy of Epic Records / Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing See more »
Royal and Etheline O'Rielly raised three children to be child prodigies. However years later we find that all the children have fallen on hard times since their father left. Royal Tenebaum hears that his wife has been proposed to by another man and resolves to get involved in his family's life again with the support of his son Richie.
Marketed as a sort of laugh a minute comedy I did feel a little tricked by this. However I never once felt cheated by this. Instead I was quite glad that I had been able to see something that is intelligent, funny, dark and yet totally off the wall. The story is told in story book fashion, with narrator Alec Baldwin talking us through the start of some scenes. The story starts years ago and then jumps to find all the characters messed up. The story is quite straight and downbeat. However the characters are so quirky that you can't help but get involved. Instead of hackneyed messages or points this story lets you decide yourself.
The writing is superb. Instead of clumsy comedy this is clever full of witty clever dialogue and physical humour that doesn't take away form the story by being silly. The writing manages to keep us involved in a story that could have been far-fetched with characters far too quirky to exist. Anderson also excels in direction at times it all feels a little too stylised, but for the most part it works well. His soundtrack is different but is very well used.
There is so much good to say about this that I don't know where to end. The cast is excellent with Hackman being the standout the only criticism being that some of the actors have little to do, Murray in particular is underused. Even the dread Paltrow is good here. Of course you can't hide talent and the Wilson brothers shine throughout.
Of course it is very slow and feels a bit stilted at times. The comedy is dark rather than consistently laugh out loud funny, but there is still plenty for the multiplex generation to laugh at. The dark tone also is a little unsettling and some of the characters are hard to get involved with, and some of the symbolism is difficult to get (the whole thing with the bird feels corny and confused).
However these are minor complaints. It's not one of the best films ever made but it's different, funny, clever and thoughtful that's good enough for me.
43 of 81 people found this review helpful.
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Royal and Etheline O'Rielly raised three children to be child prodigies. However years later we find that all the children have fallen on hard times since their father left. Royal Tenebaum hears that his wife has been proposed to by another man and resolves to get involved in his family's life again with the support of his son Richie.
Marketed as a sort of laugh a minute comedy I did feel a little tricked by this. However I never once felt cheated by this. Instead I was quite glad that I had been able to see something that is intelligent, funny, dark and yet totally off the wall. The story is told in story book fashion, with narrator Alec Baldwin talking us through the start of some scenes. The story starts years ago and then jumps to find all the characters messed up. The story is quite straight and downbeat. However the characters are so quirky that you can't help but get involved. Instead of hackneyed messages or points this story lets you decide yourself.
The writing is superb. Instead of clumsy comedy this is clever full of witty clever dialogue and physical humour that doesn't take away form the story by being silly. The writing manages to keep us involved in a story that could have been far-fetched with characters far too quirky to exist. Anderson also excels in direction at times it all feels a little too stylised, but for the most part it works well. His soundtrack is different but is very well used.
There is so much good to say about this that I don't know where to end. The cast is excellent with Hackman being the standout the only criticism being that some of the actors have little to do, Murray in particular is underused. Even the dread Paltrow is good here. Of course you can't hide talent and the Wilson brothers shine throughout.
Of course it is very slow and feels a bit stilted at times. The comedy is dark rather than consistently laugh out loud funny, but there is still plenty for the multiplex generation to laugh at. The dark tone also is a little unsettling and some of the characters are hard to get involved with, and some of the symbolism is difficult to get (the whole thing with the bird feels corny and confused).
However these are minor complaints. It's not one of the best films ever made but it's different, funny, clever and thoughtful that's good enough for me.