Review of The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) by James H — 23 May 2012

An oddball Wes Anderson-style comedy about a dysfunctional family of child prodigies, The Royal Tenenbaums boasts an all-star cast that, with the possible exception of Gwyneth Paltrow, disappears effortlessly into their roles to bring to life a story about love and indifference, escape and redemption.

Arguably Anderson's most popular movie, The Royal Tenenbaums focuses on a family for which extraordinariness is the ordinary, eccentricity the everyday, and Anderson's whimsicality and colorfulness in direction vividly reflects the Tenenbaum family's characteristics.

With popping visuals, creative editing, and imaginative characters, the movie provides lots of fun to be had, though some, as in the case of yours truly, may not be overly impressed by one thing in particular: the surprising lack of laughs Anderson is known to have produced in his audience with enviable ease.

Compared to Anderson's other movies, especially The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums is not nearly as funny, and the off-the-wall comedy feels at times too off-the-wall, if not forced and pretentious, but then again, humor is subjective.