The Royal Tenenbaums

REVIEW
Writers Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson return to the narrative and visual style of Rushmore, all bright colors and studied compositions, for this clever comic portrait of a most dysfunctional family. Having grown up geniuses, the Tenenbaum kids (Stiller, Paltrow and Luke Wilson) have wilted in adulthood, and find themselves drifting back to the Manhattan mansion of their mother (Huston), as does Huston's separated husband, Royal Tenenbaum (Hackman). There's a surprising amount of pathos at work as the family confronts their failures, simultaneously broadening the scope of Anderson's direction and revealing his limitations. He's most at home with quirky irony, such as the two carbon-copy sons of Stiller's obsessive businessman, or the way that Luke Wilson's retired tennis pro still wears his headband 24/7. Hackman is fiercely funny as the returning patriarch who can only connect with others through emotional maniuplation.