Friday, Dec. 04, 2009

The Big Screen: Wes Anderson films

There are certain movies that you absolutely have to sit down and watch whenever it's on; like drop everything you've got to just sit and admire. For me one of those movies is "The Royal Tenenbaums," Wes Anderson's 2001 film about an estranged family of childhood prodigies brought back together under the false pretense that their father is dying of stomach cancer. It sounds quite morbid but is actually a top-notch comedy. With its large ensemble cast, Rolling Stone soundtrack and 1970s Americana set and costume design, it's a real gem.

But then again I can always sit down to watch a film by Wes Anderson.

So in recognition of his new stop motion animated feature "Fantastic Mr. Fox," which is now playing in Merced, Turlock and Modesto, and features the voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep, let's talk about one of our best modern American director's short (and distinct) career.

There are many great movies about modern family dysfunction. "Little Miss Sunshine," dipped in sentimental folly, is the most immediate example. Woody Allen has built an entire career around the subject of male impotence and familial trouble.

Part of the joy of watching a dysfunction family on screen is knowing that it's not just your family that's crazy. It's everyone's family that's crazy. Anderson's movies display certain lightness; he contemplates serious ideas with a strong grip on comedy. The tragedy unfolds much later in our minds; afterwards we can equate the movie's serious tones to our own lives.

His first film "Bottle Rocket," about a group of three affluent friends who aspire to a life of petty crime for a lack of anything better to do, was such a hit in 1996 that Anderson was named as the next Martin Scorsese himself. Almost immediately he was given the freedom to write, produce and direct his own films.

Anderson, and his writing partners Owen and Luke Wilson, seems fascinated by affluence. In "Rushmore," an underprivileged student tries to fit into a New England preparatory school, and the aforementioned "Royal Tenenbaums" carries on with themes of affluence and boredom.

"The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," Anderson's most self-indulgent (and most well-known) film, is a mixture of action and comedy that reveals an inventive and ambitious approach to set design. The last feature film, "Darjeeling Limited," is his most personal film, reuniting old cast members to make a movie about three brothers' spiritual journey through India.

Anderson plucks the most stubborn, stuck-up and eccentric members of each of our families to create five wonderful films, all available on Netflix in beautiful Criterion Collection restorations, his newest "Fantastic Mr. Fox" was just released to theaters.