Review of The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) by Johnny T — 27 Feb 2011

Anderson offers no phony uplift for the Tenenbaums or for audiences. But he does know how to take a sad song and make it better. In these troubled times, that's a gift. A big generational saga that woos the audience with its humor, spirit, style, and ability. Genius here is an evolutionary thing. Exists on a knife edge between comedy and sadness. There are big laughs, and then quiet moments when we're touched. A devastatingly funny portrait of a wildly dysfunctional clan, Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums is a movie about how people never really mature in ways that matter. The performances are all terrific, but Gene Hackman is close to a career best as the family patriarch Royal, the most useless man you can't help loving. A very funny and painfully relevant two hours of entertainment.

VERDICT: "Full Price" - My second highest rating (Positive to Mixed reaction). This is a rating to a movie I view as very entertaining and well made, and definitely worth paying the full price at a theater to see or own on DVD. It is not perfect, but it is definitely excellent.