Now we end it: Am I the only person who DIDN'T think Royal Tenenbaums was amazing

[Daniel from Montréal]

I thought it was pretentious and unfunny, with the director using "quirky" characters and situations to hide the fact that the movie is pretentious and unfunny.

Am I the ONLY ONE who thought this?

[Dyvel]

Originally posted by Daniel from Montréal
I thought it was pretentious and unfunny, with the director using "quirky" characters and situations to hide the fact that the movie is pretentious and unfunny.

Am I the ONLY ONE who thought this?

No, it was a crap movie.

[GringoTex]

It's a Texas movie, so obviously you Yankees and Yankee-in-laws (that's you, montreal) won't "get it."

[oman]

I will admit it pettered out at the end. But all Wes' films are great.

I must grudgingly give it but four stars.

[hangthadj]

Originally posted by Daniel from Montréal
I thought it was pretentious and unfunny, with the director using "quirky" characters and situations to hide the fact that the movie is pretentious and unfunny.

Am I the ONLY ONE who thought this?

I loved the hell outta this movie. I read interviews with Anderson afterwards where he was talking about JD Salingers Glass family. Watching it in that context makes me like it even more.
Now David Lynch, there is a pretentious director.

[GringoTex]

Originally posted by hangthadj

Now David Lynch, there is a pretentious director.

So he stumbled a bit with "Firewalk with My Ego."

Give the guy a break.

[Dolemite]

Royal Tenenbaums is great. just watched BottleRocket (wes anderson's first movie) again today, and man that thing is funny

[DoctorJones24]

Lots of people felt similarly about "The Royal Tenenbaums" being subpar from Mr. Wes. It had some moments, but the whole thing felt episodic and contrived. Way too many characters and quirks to care about any of them. "Rushmore" and "Bottle Rocket" are both superior.

At least "The Royal Ts" is a flawed early work from a young and impressive director. He'll have more hits than misses I think.

[phats_away]

tenenbaums was one of the best movies on 2001

[FulhamRev]

Originally posted by DoctorJones24
Lots of people felt similarly about "The Royal Tenenbaums" being subpar from Mr. Wes. It had some moments, but the whole thing felt episodic and contrived. Way too many characters and quirks to care about any of them. "Rushmore" and "Bottle Rocket" are both superior.

At least "The Royal Ts" is a flawed early work from a young and impressive director. He'll have more hits than misses I think.

Pretty dead on. "Rushmore" is my favorite movie. But Royal Tenenbaums didn't really do it for me. There was just something a bit smug about the whole thing...

[DoctorJones24]

Originally posted by hangthadj

I read interviews with Anderson afterwards where he was talking about JD Salingers Glass family. Watching it in that context makes me like it even more.
Now David Lynch, there is a pretentious director.

Just wondering, but how/why did this change your view of the movie? I had known about that context going in, and it did nothing for me (and I was a big Salinger fan back in the day). The Glass family in Salinger's novels had much more depth and feeling from what I recall, than the Tenenbaums. I think RT needed to be about 3 hours to do justice to the various characters and relationships.

[Dante]

Originally posted by FulhamRev
Pretty dead on. "Rushmore" is my favorite movie. But Royal Tenenbaums didn't really do it for me. There was just something a bit smug about the whole thing...

Bingo, that's the exact way I felt about it. Rushmore was great, imho, but The Royal Tennenbaums was just an average movie. One that I wouldn't even watch on cable. It just didn't do anything for me.

[nicodemus]

From start to finish I just wanted to punch my friends for talking me into seeing that movie. It sucked and was a total waste of $15 (had to pay for the girlfriend too.)

[eneste]

I loved all of Salinger's Glass book ("Franny and Zooey" is the best!) and I thought that Royal Tenenbaums was the best film I saw last year. I can see why people think that it is ostentatious but that's probably the same reason why I like it so much. The scene with the tennis player in the bathroom cutting his beard with "Needle in the Hay" playing (don't want to give too much away) was great.

[Khansingh]

Royal Tenenbaum is, in my opinion, the best character Gene Hackman has ever played. That's considering Popeye Doyle and Norman Dale. I found that the humor was more subtle than Rushmore, the kind of funny that you find in Metropolitan.

[El Toro]

It was criminal that Hackman was overlooked for an Oscar nomination for 'The RTs."

It was also my favorite movie of last year. The DVD is amazing, with interviews of all cast members, running commentary by Wes, a "making of" special and even an interview with the artist that painted those wack paintings in Eli Cash's apartment (hint...they were not painted for the movie...)

I can see where some people wouldn't like it. My boss walked out of it. Those people tend to like more normal and accessible fare.

[Daniel from Montréal]

Originally posted by El Toro
I can see where some people wouldn't like it. My boss walked out of it. Those people tend to like more normal and accessible fare.

Liking the RTs doesn't make you elitist, you know?

I still think the movie tricks people into thinking its good.

[nicodemus]

Originally posted by Khansingh
Royal Tenenbaum is, in my opinion, the best character Gene Hackman has ever played. That's considering Popeye Doyle and Norman Dale. I found that the humor was more subtle than Rushmore, the kind of funny that you find in Metropolitan.

Originally posted by El Toro
It was criminal that Hackman was overlooked for an Oscar nomination for 'The RTs."

I think that was one of the things that bothered me about the movie, the characters, whether Royal, Ben Stiller's little carbon copies, Luke Wilson or the others, they were all great. Its rare that so many great characters pop up in a movie, yet the final product doesn't come near what the sum of its parts should have been.

I sum RTs up as great characters, waste of a movie.

[El Toro]

Originally posted by Daniel from Montréal


Liking the RTs doesn't make you elitist, you know?

I wasn't trying to be elitist. I am not. 'The RTs' is obviously a quirky weird movie with a narrower rubric of acceptance than, say, 'Spider-Man'. I mearly meant its tone and style would obviously appeal to less people than more traditional Hollywood fare.

[B]


I still think the movie tricks people into thinking its good.

So I've been duped, tricked eh? They pulled one over on me.

[Daniel from Montréal]

Originally posted by nicodemus


I think that was one of the things that bothered me about the movie, the characters, whether Royal, Ben Stiller's little carbon copies, Luke Wilson or the others, they were all great. Its rare that so many great characters pop up in a movie, yet the final product doesn't come near what the sum of its parts should have been.

I sum RTs up as great characters, waste of a movie.

This I agree with. Why I'm ticked is because this movie looked to have so much potential and ended up kind of bland.