Review of The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) by Steve J — 15 May 2014

I'm one of the people who doesn't get the appeal of this film. I found it to be muddled, precious, and awfully self-impressed. It lacks the charm of Rushmore, but if it has one huge fault it's that it isn't very funny, nor is it particularly compelling.

I also HATED the characers...HATED them. Partly because it's so painfully (excruciatingly) obvious how 'charming' we're supposed to find them. The actors do their best with what little they're given to work with (except Paltrow, who has always gotten on my nerves), but the story utterly failed to move me in any real way.

Other than a few stray laughs, I found The Royal Tenenbaums to be rather dull, not to mention unnecessarily unpleasant. Beautiful cinematography and production design do not a great movie make.