The Royal Tenenbaums

I have never been more excited for a movie in my life!!!!! Wes Anderson has made two perfect pictures and a total of zero imperfect pictures in his life. Oh my god, I can't even talk about it. This will be the greatest thing to happen to me since, well Rushmore. I am a huge Gene Hackman fan (Even if he is playing the role of Bill Murray from Rushmore) and I have loved Owen Wilson since Bottle Rocket and even more so since seeing Shanghai Noon and Zoolander. He is seriosuly the fuinniest guy on Earth. This cast is fantastic and no one can argue. I'm kinda sketchy about Ben Stiller sometimes, but under the supervision of humor god Anderson, all will be good. Anyone else half as excited as me? Only 35 more days!!!!!

I'm kinda glad nothing can be thrown at me on here. I don't know if it was because I wasn't in the mood for it that night or what, but when I watched Rushmore..I hated it. I thought it was stupid, but I have matured since then, and might give it another go sometime soon. Who know, might like it. Then I'll go see The Royal Tenenbaums

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"I was walking down the street with my friend and he said, "I hear music", as if there is any other way you can take it in. You're not special, that's how I receive it too. I tried to taste it but it did not work." - Mitch Hedberg

More exciting than Potter and LOTR? Get a cat scan, my friend. Anyway, it looks pretty good. I would not call any movie perfect (far from it)...but I'm a big Murrary/Stiller fan, so I'll likely enjoy it.

spud, same thing happened to me, I saw it a couple years ago and didn't really like it but recently revisited it and liked it much more!'

This is one of the films I'm looking forward to this year along with Man Who Wasn't There, Majestic, Vanilla Sky, and LOTR.

First of all, Rushmore is fu*kin' brilliant, the best comedy of the '90s in my book. It perfectly matches my senses of humor and romance. It's a damn near perfect film for me. I saw it at The Austin Film Festival in October of '98 (it's U.S. premiere) and fell MADLY in love with it instantly. I saw it five more times when it was released theatrically in February of '99. I got hold of an early screener copy on VHS later that summer and watched it another couple dozen times. Then when it hit DVD in June, I enjoyed it many more times. When Criterion gave it their deluxe treatment to start off 2000 (and thank the Movie Gods for that) I took a nice long swim in all the supplements for weeks. I still pop it in once every few months now. It makes me happier than I can describe.

Secondly, The Royal Tenenbaums is probably the film I'm most looking forward to this Winter as well - that and Marty Scorsese's Gangs of New York, whenever in the Hell Miramax sees fit to release it.

I tried to score some tickets to see Tenenbaums when it premiered at the New York Film Festival last month, but no such luck. I go up to NYC a couple times a year to catch movies, and this one definitely would have been worth the trip. If it opens in NY a substantial period of time before D.C. or Baltimore, I'll still probably drive up. It's only three hours each way, that's nothing for me - I loves to drive.

Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson are geniuses as far as I'm concerned. I anxiously anticipate anything and everything from them in the future, and the trailer for The Royal Tenebaums makes me drool and swoon. If they keep working with Bill Murray, even better. Billy was robbed of an Oscar nod for Rushmore, and the entire film was overlooked by the Academy. Their loss.

So yeah, you could say I'm a fan of Wes and Owen and be sure that I'll definitely catch [color=royal blue]The Royal Tenenbaums[/color] as soon as humanly possible.

For anyone interested, the official site with downloadable trailer is HERE.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

I actually like you right now, Holden.
Those of you who are straddling the Wes Anderson fence, don't forget to check out Bottle Rocket. Although I know that its not as objevtively good as Rushmore, I personally like it more. I acnnot understand how anyone could be more excited about anything than this, especially Elijah Wood dressed up as a High School Clone dressed up as Rob Thomas playing the role of a confused aristocrat playing the role of a lost British kid. I mean, I'll see LOTR and probably love it, but I'm defensive now about my personal light at the end of the tunnel I call Late fall. Anyway, 33 more days...

Oh, I love Bottle Rocket too, most definitely. It doesn't achieve the overall perfection reached in Rushmore, but it's fantastic too, and on its own terms. Dignan is one of the best film characters of recent memory, and I had no doubt both Wilson brothers would become stars in front of the camera (Owen and Luke's older brother, Andrew, is in Wes & Owen's movies too: he's "Future Man" in Bottle Rocket and Coach Beck in Rushmore) after seeing this movie.

No TWT you are wrongxorz, Rushmore is perfect. It is the zenith of comedy in movies.

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Horror's Not Dead
Latest Movie Review(s): Too lazy to keep this up to date. New reviews every week.

Well, I've seen a little less than half of it. I'll sit down and watch the whole thing...but I doubt I'll be quite so enamored with it.

Rushmore - the best movie of the 90's, and no other comedy from that decade even comes close (except perhaps Being John Malkovich, a movie that now and forever I am desperately in love with). I don't know if TWT would like Rushmore very much though, he doesn't seem to be a fan of many movies that are out of the ordinary. (Not an insult, merely an observation).

The trailer for Royal Tennenbaums =======AAAAAAHHHH!!!!! I can't wait! I want to go to NYC to see it one weekend, instead of waiting all the way til Christmas. Hey Holden, how about you drive me up there?

I wouldn't say that. "Being John Malkovich" was bizarre, and I loved it. It got a tad stupid at times, but for the most part it was unique and funny (I laughed almost *every* time someone got thrown out by the highway). I'm a fan of movies that I enjoy.

Great line TWT. I'm the same way. Really, super line. I enjoy Rushmore and Bottle Rocket more than I enjoy any other movies. They're not necessarily my favorites, though. I cannot explain it. Hmmm...

Rushmore adoration always surprises me. I'm afraid I don't get the joke.

The acting was great. I'm the biggest Bill Murray fan in the world and Schwartzmann was wonderful but what was so wonderful about the movie itself that it has people saying it was the best comedy of its decade?

My first complaint is that I didn't think it was very funny. It was inventive and quirky but not astoundingly funny. I liked when Murray runs over Schwartzman's bike. And I liked the fact that Murray's kids bullied him. In fact, Murray played a wonderful character. The homage to the Graduate was a nice touch.

What hurt this film for me was not Schwartzman but Schwartzman's character. He wasn't a very likeable protoganist. Were we supposed to root for him? I think so. But I didn't care for him at all. I didn't find him amusing, was I supposed to? And Olivia Williams was her usual dour self. Who put this woman into the pictures? She hasn't got a trace of talent.

The film meandered a lot. And its conclusion, the Vietnam stage play, was terrible. I hated this scene. It was an awful way to finish the movie.

Somebody explain to me what I'm missing. If the film was devoted to Murray than it may have been something special but when it focuses on the mean, unsympathetic, idiot of a Max Fischer then it can't work.

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I couldn't believe that she knew my name. Some of my best friends didn't know my name.

I do NOT like chocolate ice cream. I've tried it many times, but I just don't like it...at all. Yet I see people eating it all the time. What are they enjoying that I'm not? Please, somebody try to explain what in the heck is the big deal about chocolate ice cream. Even though it makes me gag, perhaps I can be talked into liking it? I know it's not even possible that I have different tastes than others, so there must be another explanation. Please, enlighten me.

Question...I just saw a preview for a movie called Behind Enemy Lines with Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson...go figure! Have you seen it? I'm gonna get it. I am excited about this movie too, by the way, the Royal Tenenbaums that is.

Holden...I gotcha, I gotcha...heh-heh. Good one.

I hate sarcasm Holden Pike. I really hate sarcasm.


Chocolate Ice-cream is yummy because it combines two of the most desired ingredients for anyone with a sweet tooth; that being chocolate and ice-cream. But I prefer Vanilla.


I guess you had to reply with such an unwitty response because you don't know why you like Rushmore. My guess is that you liked the movie because the critics did. Am I right?


The critics are not always right my friend. And originality, like Rushmore and Being John Malkovich to a lesser degree does not a great movie make.

Yes, I liked Rushmore because the critics did! EXACTLY! Even though, as I said above, I was lucky enough to see it before the reviews had even started coming in, I knew I kind of enjoyed it back in October, but when the reviews came out in December and February I realized I must have been a little off and I should probably start calling it a GREAT movie...which I now do. You read me perfectly, Val!

I rarely think for myself and therefore my "taste", such as it were, is dictated by the prevailing trends. Right now I'm like totally into Britney Spears, SUVs, and Shrek on DVD! In a few months I may not like them anymore. I'll have to check "Entertainment Tonight" and People Magazine to find out.


OK, let me go piont-by-point from the highlights of your other post, if that'll make you happier. Because naturally I feel very defensive about my complete love for Rushmore (especially as I have literally NO idea why I might like it...other than that critical reception). I really, truly, deeply give a crap whether you or anybody else likes it. So...

"Rushmore adoration always surprises me. I'm afraid I don't get the joke."

There's nothing quite as tedious or impossible as explaining a joke to somebody who doesn't "get" it. But why is the elephant who walks into the bar able to talk? Do animals usually enter this area's businesses, talking or otherwise? How big an elephant is this, can it even fit through the door? How can anyone possibly think a talking elephant in a bar is "funny"?

"I'm the biggest Bill Murray fan in the world..."

Big Bill Murray fan and yet you hate sarcasm. That's an interesting mix. Now that I know such a thing exists I'm going to look for the biggest Farrelly Brothers' fan in the world who hates scatological humor.

"...but what was so wonderful about the movie itself that it has people saying it was the best comedy of its decade?"

I can't speak for "people", only myself, and until Steve chimed in above I had never personally heard anyone else call it the best comedy of the '90s. But for me it is the best of the entire decade, yes.

To put some more of my personal perspective on it, After Hours gets my vote as best comedy of the '80s, Young Frankenstein would be tops in the '70s, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb the '60s, The Lavender Hill Mob the '50s, His Girl Friday the '40s, and Duck Soup the '30s. That's a crossection of some of my big screen comedic taste. Other top favorites from the '90s - all second to Rushmore for me - are The Freshman, Quick Change, Joe vs. the Volcano, L.A. Story, Defending Your Life, The Commitments, Truly,Madly,Deeply, Hear My Song, Blood & Concrete: A Love Story, Groundhog Day, The Hudsucker Proxy, Bullets Over Broadway, Get Shorty, To Die For, Bottle Rocket, Waiting for Guffman, As Good As It Gets, Touch, Addicted to Love, Wag the Dog, Grosse Pointe Blank, The Big Lebowski, Election and Being John Malkovich. Don't know and don't really care how many of those others you'd agree with, but one easy way for me to define my taste is to give you as many examples as possible. There they are.

Rushmore has the same kind of wonderful things I find in all those varied movies: it makes me laugh, smile, giggle, etc. In other words, I like it, man.

"My first complaint is I don't think it was very funny...."

Well, if YOU didn't find it funny, I guess nobody else did or even could.

"What hurt the film was not Schwartzman but Schwarztman's character. He wasn't a very likeable protagonist."

First of all, I LOVE Max Fisher. Great kid, great character. Secondly, what rule book are you using that says a protagonist must be "likeable" anyway? But that's another issue, I'll table that for another day.

"Were we supposed to root for him? I think so. I didn't care for him at all. I didn't find him amusing, was I supposed to?"

Here we are again: I suppose if YOU didn't like him, it's not possible that anybody else could or would. I rooted for him, definitely. I find him endlessly amusing, yes.

"And Olivia Williams was her usual dour self. Who put this woman into the pictures? She hasn't got a trace of talent."

[broken record]Gee, I like her. I liked her in this movie tremendously and don't find her at all dour as Miss Cross.

"The film meandered a lot."

Golly, I found it perfectly paced.

"And the conclusion, the Vietman stage play, was terrible. I hated this scene. It was an awful way to finish the movie."

I thought it was hilarious and a perfect way to end the movie.

"Somebody explain to me what I'm missing."

As I tried to do much more succinctly with the ice cream analogy, THIS IS A MATTER OF TASTE. I can't possible explain to you why I liked it and you didn't. You thought it was slow and the main character was an moronic @sshole not worthy of your time an it wasn't funny. I love Max Fisher and thought the tone, style, pacing and senses of humor and romance on display in Rushmore were special and perfect. I can no more talk you into thinking my way about this movie than you can talk me into liking chocolate ice cream.

What are you missing? People who like Rushmore probably tend to think it is perfectly paced, love the characters, are swept away by the tone & style, and it makes them laugh (those all certainly hold true for me). Those who don't like Rushmore probably tend to think the opposite on all or most of those things (that would apparently hold true for you).

Now do you understand?


And to be clear, I love sracasm. I really, really love it. It's my favorite...even more than vanilla ice cream. Don't know what the critics think about it, but I sure as ***** enjoy it.

As for wit: like humor or one's taste in movies and any other damn thing, it's in the eye of the beholder.

And I agree the critics are not always right. I'd go further and say they're usually not right. And that's why I tend to ignore them as much as possible.

And most of all thanks, for calling me "friend".

What's with the freakin' attitude Holden? All I want to know is why you like the movie. Tell me what parts of it appealed to you. Review it if you have to.

Films are a taste thing but if somebody doesn't like a movie that I love then I'll argue its brilliance until I'm blue in the face. You've replied twice and have yet to offer any valid explanations why you think "Rushmore" is the best comedy of the 90s. If its the best comedy of the last ten years then surely you have at least three reasons to explain its appeal to you.

I'd like to know what I'm missing out on.

By the way, you're not my friend. I was being sarcastic.

I don't think he was implying that it's ridiculous for you all to love it...just that he doesn't get it. I don't thikn it's anything to be so upset about. I've met people who don't absolutely love "Unbreakable," whom I wanna kill...but I don't let it get out into my posts like that.

I guess we all have our sensitive spots, though.

I haven't replied yet with any valid explanations of why I think Rushmore is the best comedy of the '90s?

Again (read my above posts to find the majority of these comments, though I'll also elaboate a bit for your benefit)...Rushmore perfectly matches my senses of humor and romance. I love the character of Max Fisher. I like Miss Cross. I also like Mr. Bloom, I like Bert Fisher, Dr. Guggenheim, Dirk Calloway, Magnus, Margaret Yang, Ronnie & Donnie, Mr. Littlejeans and every other character in the film. I rooted for Max to win out in all his schemes for love, his extracurricular activites and his theatrical ambitions. I find the movie very funny. I find the movie very charming. I loved the pacing, I loved the tone, I loved the style. The soundtarck was spot-on. I find the movie very special in just about every way. For all these reasons and more, Rushmore was the best comedy I saw of films released theatrically in the U.S. from January of 1990 to December of 1999.

What are you missing? That.

Why are you missing all that? Because you didn't see any of those things when you watched it, due to our different tastes in regards to this film and chocolate ice cream.


And frankly I'm floored that you're calling me "friend" was sarcastic. Didn't catch it at all. Now I'm confused: are you saying we're NOT friends?

"And thanks, for calling me friend" is a line from a Bill Murray movie. It is a tad sarcastic, so you probably hate it and therefore don't remember it. On the other hand, you're a self-proclaimed biggest Bill Murray fan in the world, so mayhaps it should ring a bell...or at least honk a horn ("Sometimes their noses are horns").