Director:- Wes Anderson
Considering this film was rated 5 stars by the Radio Times and appears in the film lover's bible 1001 Films to See Before You Die, I slid the DVD into the machine with some hope and excitement. However, whilst the final credits rolled (at last), I found myself looking behind the couch to find the previous two hours.
The Royal Tenanbaums sees a dysfunctional New York family reunited after their father (Hackman) feigns a terminal illness after hearing his wife (Huston) is about to remarry. At some point in their childhood the three children (Luke Wilson, Paltrow and Stiller) have been considered to be prodigies, however have all fallen upon hard times. The first half sets the scene reasonably well, lulling the viewer into a false sense of security, but the second really is Hollywood fairytale fluff as the loose ends are tied.
The film bills itself as a comedy and frankly it isn't in the slightest bit funny. Don't get me wrong their are a few bits at which I tittered slightly, like Danny Glover falling into a hole, but I watched this film off the back of Naked Gun- at which The Royal Tenanbaums could never hold a candle to. A key point here is how the film stacks up to the great comedies such as Naked Gun and The Life of Brian- the answer to that question being absolutely nowhere near. For a comedy to be rated as a 5 star it really needs to be ground breaking- I mean would people really be protesting outside the cinemas against The Royal Tenanbaums? I think not. I can't understand why the critics fawn over the film so much- it is yet another example of people thinking oh the critics love it so I must do as well.
I binned the DVD after the film ended.
IMDB.com Rating:- 7.6 (155,728 votes)
Supermegahybrid Film Rating:- 2.5 stars
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