Review of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) by Sarah G — 31 Mar 2012

Esteban was eaten!

Wes Anderson has once again proved he knows off beat humor. Life Aquatic is one of the most interestingly odd films to ever grace my DVD player.

The Story: Steve Zissou and his best friend Esteban have made a living off of making documentaries about wildlife, mainly aquatic wildlife. When Steves friend Esteban is eaten by a shark, he takes it upon himself to get revenge. He sets out on a long and dangerous voyage with a team of...Well, I'm not sure what to call them...He sets out on a long and dangerous voyage with a crew of fellow sailors. Sailors? I'm not sure if that's what I'd call them but you get the point. They work on the boat but none of them are really "professionals" or trained to do whatever it is they do. Along the way Steve meets his possible son Ned and takes him under his wing. All this while trying to keep up appearances around a news reporter Steve seeks vengeance on the shark. It's such an odd story that will have you rolling on the floor with laughter. Or at the very least intrigued and interested.

The Cast: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and a whole lot of others. There's a huge cast here and they all have their parts but Bill Murray and Owen Wilson outshine just about everyone. Bill Murray plays Steve Zissou, a character unto himself. A washed up filmmaker (no pun intended), searching for the creature that killed his best friend. His role seamlessly changes constantly from serious to humorous Bill Murray is the man. Owen Wilson, plays Ned, Steves possible son. A southern gentlemen with all the politeness in the world, but also a slight mean streak. Willam Dafoe, and Jeff Goldblum also make appearances that are humorous in their own ways. Goldblum plays a richer, more handsome, more intelligent version of Murray's character. He plays it with ease, of course adding his own strangeness to the whole thing. And Dafoe plays the jealous sailor that wishes he was Steves son, and not Ned. The entire cast shines here and plays with the perfect amount of oddness, and the perfect amount of normalness...I don't think "normalness", is a word, but you get the point...

One to Five Scale: 4.

It's funny, it's serious, it's odd...It's kind of an acquired taste. If you saw Rushmore or Royal Tenenbaums, and thought they were funny, than you're probably going to like this one. If you're one of the people that hated either one of those movies, you're probably going to want to skip this one and watch Austin Powers...I'm kidding, no one should watch Austin Powers, those movies were terrible...But if you don't like the humor of Wes Andersons other films, this one probably isn't going to convert you.

7/24/2005.