the characters were very interesting, the cinematography was witty and aesthetically pleasing, the set design had its quirky charm, but i found the story lacking. it sort of meandered a bit. the story in rushmore i found more to the point, essentially a love triangle. the royal tenenbaums, was it a story about royal tenenbaum trying to reconnect with his family? was it about his children finally overcoming bad child raising? about the mother getting on with her life? or maybe it's about helping a friend kick the drug habit? too many storylines, i wished they just followed one and developed it a little more. i almost wanted to see a tenenbaums television show.
there were so many interesting storylines, seems like only a show with multiple episodes could do it justice, instead of cramming everything into one movie. another thing i had some trouble with was i couldn't really identify with a particular character. everyone seemed to be so twisted in their own neuroses or idiosyncrasies. the only normal ones were probably the kids and the beagle, i suppose. hate to keep on comparing it with rushmore, but i felt a stronger connection to the characters in rushmore. trt also didn't really pursue the genius angle once that's been established. maybe that was the irony, but if these grown up kids use to be geniuses, how come they're all so screwed up now as adults? they might as well been just normal grown up kids with issues instead. and one final thing, i didn't find the music in the royal tenenbaums, other than the paul simon and the ramones songs, to be anything noteworthy. after i saw rushmore (sorry!) i went to newbury comics the next day and snatched up the soundtrack. i'm not doing that for the royal tenenbaums.
so did i not like the movie? no, i didn't say that. i think i'm mixed about the film. all the hype surrounding the movie, the critical raves, the various award nominations, i guess i was just expecting a lot more. i guess i wanted the same feeling i had when i saw rushmore, this, "wow, this movie is really really cool" feeling. perhaps the success of rushmore did in this movie. maybe if i saw this one first then rushmore, things might be different. the movie is definitely funny, if you buy into the characters. chas tenenbaum waking up his kids for a late night fire drill i found to be one of the funniest moments in the movie. the beginning part of the movie as well, introducing the characters and showing them as kids, that was pretty funny too. but if you start watching it and find everyone annoying, it's just going to get worse, not better.
the royal tenenbaums seems like a movie that you either get it or you don't. i think i partially get it, but i'm not buying into it 100%. it has the mindset of the indie movie casted with A-list stars. when i came out of the theatre i saw a poster for amélie. that is a much better movie than the royal tenenbaums. still, the royal tenenbaums is a movie you ought not to miss if you like your humor dark and subtle, and definitely if you are a fan of rushmore, you owe it to yourself to see this film. also, if you're a big fan of owen wilson.