Rating: 
Summary: Funny, Touching & Brilliant
Review: "The Royal Tenenbaums" is the third collaboration between director Wes Anderson and writer/actor Owen Wilson. While it is not as perfect as their previous film, "Rushmore", "The Royal Tenenbaums is still an instant classic, with an outstanding cast at the top of their game, beautiful Cinematography & Art Direction, yet another great soundtrack, and a beautiful story about love, family and redemption.The story of the film is thus: Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman), patriarch of a family of gifted children, has been estranged from them for close to 20 years. He has been seperated, but not divorced, from his wife for that same period of time. All in all, it appears he could really care less about them, until he discovers that his wife, Etheline (Anjelica Huston), has been proposed to by her accountant, Henry Sherman (Danny Glover, in a great understated performance, probably his best since "The Color Purple). This stirs something in Royal, so he cooks up a scheme to get back into her and the children's lives. He pretends he is dying. Don't worry, it's not a spoiler, and is clear from the very beginning. Meanwhile, the children have all grown up twisted, in their own way. Ritchie (Luke Wilson), the oldest and Royal's favorite, was a Tennis phenom who melted down during a match and has been traveling the world on a steamer ever since, and is still clad in his tennis gear, posing for pictures as "the 'Baumer". He is in love with his sister, Margot (Gweneth Paltrow), who is adopted and a perpetually depressed playwrite, who is married to Raleigh St. Claire (Bill Murray, giving yet another understated yet hilarious pefromance), a nuerologist and lecturer. She is cheating on him with Eli Cash (Owen Wilson), Ritchie's best friend and drug-addicted English Lit professor who just gained noteriety for his book "Old Custer". Finally, there is Chaz (Ben Stiller), who was always a financial wiz, and who is obssessed with the safety of his sons after his wife dies in a plane crash. Once he moves back into their home, ther rest of the kids come back, and then Royal re-enters their lives and the movie takes off. The film is a comedy, yes, but it is bittersweet and sad at the same time. Each of the children is severely disfunctional, primarily because of Royal. he characters are extreme, yes, but in a way I think the film was meant to be a portrait of any family where things get rocky, where favortisim is showed to one child over the others, where love is not in the equation. Eventually, the film is about redemption, and not just Royal's but some other characters as well. The story itself is beautiful and absurd enough to know that it came from the slightly skewed perspectives of Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson. Gene Hackman would have dominated this movie had he been the only name actor cast. I'm not saying other, lesser known actors woouldn't have been just as good. I'm just saying that everyone else is so perfectly cast, it becomes almost forgiveable that Hackman was not nominated for an Oscar for this role. Almost. It's still a crime. Royal is corrupt but likable, tactless but sweet in his own way. Hackman takes the role and makes it his own. Other cast standouts are Danny Glover, showing a gift for the sly comedy Anderson and Wilson are known for, Luke Wilson in his performance of Ritchie shows a range he has not been able to stretch in his Hollywood roles, and while Gweneth Paltrow and Ben Stiller also give excellent performances, special notice must be given to Kumar Pallana as Pagoda, Royal's valet, an Indian actor used in ever Anderson film, starting with "Bottle Rocket". Here he is given a major role, and every one of his lines is a solid laugh. He really shines here, and although I'm sure you won't see him until the next Anderson film, he's worth seeing here. The score by Mark Mothersbaugh is twinkly and beautiful, as were his scores for "Bottle Rocket" and "Rushmore". Mothersbaugh used to be in DEVO, and you get the impression that he and Anderson understand each other on a wierd level. The art direction is terrific. The Tenenbaum house looks like something out of a dream, as does the New York City Anderson shows us in the film, a gentler side to the city that is rarely seen. The film looks terrific. The folk at Criterion have done a great job on the Special Edition. There are a couple of deleted scenes, an outtake or two, interviews with all the cast members that focus on their approach to the characters, two video features, one a serious look at Wes Anderson as a filmmaker, one a hilarious takeoff on Charlie Rose type shows. There is also a large gallery of the art produced for the film. It is simple and elegant, and captures the innocence of youth tha Anderson goes for in his early scenes in the movie. There is also a little audio on the two bizzare paintings at Eli Cash's house that must be heard to be believed. "The Royal Tenenbaums" is a fine film by a director who is still underappreciated by Hollywood as a whole, a director who seems to be an actor's director. He's shown that he can get great performances out of anybody. This film belongs on your DVD shelf.
Rating: 
Summary: The Tenenbaums never take off
Review: It's always puzzling when it comes to films how an idea that seemingly can't go wrong...does. This is exactly the case here with the "Royal Tenenbaums".
There is a cast at hand which needs no introductions: Gene Hackman, Angelica Houston, Paltrow etc. There is the idea of making all of them members of an ultra weird family (the Tenenbaums). This, providing the right script, should amount to a wacky comedy with subtle but also dark humor, a film that should be able to take on the best "indies" out there.
But that never happens. Primarily because the biggest joke on this candidate comedy is the script itself.
It's a story that never takes off really and tires even the most patient of viewers as they wait for something to finally happen. Hackman, as usual, produces another great performance, Angelica Houston is great, and that's about the only two reasons why i watched this film even though it drags painfully and pointlessly.
The problem is that it doesn't matter whether you got a couple of great actors on your cast doing their darn best. The right recipe still includes having a story to go with it. The examples of films that have very good acting involved and sad storylines are many.
Pity, because this is a classic case of "what it could've been"...
Rating:
Summary: complete
Review: Excuse me if this review is mediocre to say the least. Defense of the Royal Tenenbaums by fans is very necessary, according to llllloyd, and I believe he is right. This movie has been bashed countless times by the media, and the criticism just doesn't fit. That is not to say that everyone should like the tenenbaums, the humor in it is drastically different from any other "modern comedies". The best way to define the humor, is to realise that it is funny, but in a very sad, somewhat disturbing way. It is comedy in the same manner that comedy happens in real life. I would definitely recommend that any suburbanites that grew up reading Salinger, Dahl, listening to brit pop and enjoying the art of Quentin Blake take a look at this, as Wes Anderson's work is a definition in modern middle american.
Rating:
Summary: A well made movie but so boring predictable story.
Review: Amazingly slow and predictable one. The director's attention to detail and setup were great as usual. However, there's no point of story. Not amusing. Paltrow underperforms. Highly decorated bright side version of Adams family.
Rating:
Summary: on constant repeat
Review: wes anderson's attention to detail is dizzying. from the set props and details to the costumes to the soundtrack - everything fit together so perfectly it seemed completely believable. the shot compositions are beautiful, especially the family shots with gwynneth paltrow always cowering in the corner. one of my favorite movies ever - it's hilarious.
Rating:
Summary: Deep as can be
Review: This one will be remembered as an American classic. The characters in this quirky dark comedy are very memorable. Ther isn't one dull or forgetable character in the bunch. I particularly enjoyed Luke Wilson's performance as the failed tennis prodigy. He potrays quiet desperation with a master's touch. It seems that his character is the calm center around which all of the craziness whirls around. Gene Hackman's performance is also wonderful. How can a failure of a father return to his family? The movie tries to explore that.
Rating: 
Summary: Terribly Unfunny
Review: Perhaps the most formulaic and unfunny comedy I've ever seen. I did not laugh during the last hour. Paltrow is terrible.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderfully Quirky Film
Review: I put 4 stars, but this film really deserves 4.5 stars. Wes Anderson, the critically acclaimed director of Rushmore, has served up a heartbreaking yet hilarious picture. Brilliant dialogue, melancholy/beautiful cinematography, and one of Gene Hackman's finest performances, The Royal Tenenbaums is a terrific film. Gene Hackman plays Royal Tenenbaum, an entrepreneur who has recently fallen on hard times. His family hates him, he has no money, and his ex-wife (despite the fact they're not legally divorced) is about to marry the family accountant. In one last effort to win his family back, Royal tells his ex-wife (played by Angelica Huston) that he's dying of cancer. Soon, the entire family knows and Royal begins his task of winning his family back. The film's greatest virtue is the characters. Like Rushmore and Bottle Rocket, the characters are all incredibly quirky, but they're all completely relatable. Why? Because they're dealing with situations that we deal with everyday, and that's what makes Wes Anderson such a creative new talent. As weird as everyone is, you really do care about what happens to them. As I said, the film contains one of Hackman's best performances to date. But he's not the only one. Luke Wilson is particularly enjoyable as Richie Tenenbaum, the ex-tennis player who is deeply in love with his adopted sister Margot (Gwenyth Paltrow). Ben Stiller gives his best performance to date as Chas, Royal's hate-filled son. Gwenyth Paltrow gives one of her only tolerable performances ever. Bill Murray is also hilarious as usual as Paltrow's husband. Despite all its praise, this film is so quirky that it's unlikely to please everyone who sees it. Quirky humor just doesn't work for some people, which is understandable. So if you hate that kind of sense of humor, this film is most likely not for you. That said, I love quirky humor, so if you're like me, this film is right up your alley.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe it's me, missing the boat
Review: By reading these reviews, you know you're either going to think the movie is "hilarious", or you're going to find it getting off to a slow but mildly entertaining start, and never picking up steam. Whether you're on the side that loves it or the side that was mostly bored with it, you'll probably think it's a weird movie.
I didn't think it was weird, though I thought it was slow. After watching this movie and seeing all the rave reviews, I would've loved to have watched it with someone who actually laughed throughout the movie, just to see where it was supposed to be funny. When scenes were introduced showing potentially uncomfortable situations between the characters, like when the adopted sister confronts her brother about him being in love with her, she confronts him, and then we get a scene change, and we're left wondering what was said between the two. Maybe we're supposed to use our imagination, but I think that's a cheap way out. A pack of cigarettes drops out of her coat pocket. Her brother asks her about it. She says it's not hers, he says they fell out of her pocket, and again we cut away to another scene and we never return to that one. "You dropped your cigarettes". "Those aren't mine". "They fell out of your pocket". And the scene goes away.
If this is the funny dialogue, it didn't work for me. I don't get how it worked for anybody. A handful of times I laughed out loud. Just as many times, I felt like turning off the movie. By the end, though I was involved in the movie, I felt like it was a waste of time. I was a little touched by Chas at the end. I was a little touched by the relationship between Gwyneth and Luke. It wasn't enough. O Brother Where Art Thou was hilarious. I found this to be pretty slow.
Rating:
Summary: An emotionally comedic film that is not for all tastes
Review: Wes Anderson, director of the excellent Rushmore, helms this near emotionally comedic masterpiece of a film. The Royal Tenenbaums centers around Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) and his estranged, dysfunctional family including his ex-wife Etheline (Anjelica Houston) and his three former child genius children (Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, and Luke Wilson). All of whom are brought back together after years of seperation when word of Royal's terminally ill status is revealed, and this is where The Royal Tenenbaums truly shines. Anderson co-wrote with co-star Owen Wilson (as a drug addicted literary celebrity) and brings the rich, emotionally comedic story to life. Hackman absolutely shines in his role, and the rest of the cast is great as well, although there are a certain number of parts that just seem a bit unbelieveable and sometimes the story can get a bit uneven, but the unique comedy (much like Anderson's Rushmore) make The Royal Tenenbaums a winner. Danny Glover co-stars as Etheline's soon to be new husband which Royal must contend with, and Bill Murray also stars as Paltrow's psychiatrist husband and Alec Baldwin provides the film's narration. All in all, The Royal Tenenbaums is a near classic comedy/drama that fans of Rushmore will enjoy, but be warned, those looking for a laugh out loud gross out comedy will be very disappointed.
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