Review of The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) by Al M — 31 Dec 2010

The Royal Tenenbaums remains my favorite Wes Anderson film: a brilliant, empathetic, and gentle analysis of the dysfunctional nature of families. The Tenenbaums perfects Anderson caricature style in which the characters become cartoonish symbols of particular human faults--Gweneth Paltrow's character even features theme music from the Charlie Brown Christmas special to further accent her two-dimensional nature.

While the characters are essentially two-dimensionally, the film works because they are also so profoundly deep, endearing, and moving. By the end of the film, you care deeply for all the characters. Some might find Anderson's style unnecessarily pretentious, but I find The Royal Tenenbaums to be a consstently delightful, hilarious, and poignant exploration of the flaws that make us beautiful.