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Movies / On DVD / The Royal Tenenbaums
The Royal Tenenbaums

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The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

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Reviews Counted:169

Fresh:134

Rotten:35

Average Rating:7.2/10

Consensus: The Royal Tenenbaums is a delightful adult comedy with many quirks and a sense of poignancy. Many critics especially praised Hackman's performance.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for some language, sexuality/nudity and drug content

Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Dec 14, 2001 Limited

Box Office: $52,307,676

Synopsis: In their youth, the Tenenbaums--an eccentric New York family--were extraordinary. They were all geniuses. Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) was a successful litigator. His wife Etheline (Angelica... In their youth, the Tenenbaums--an eccentric New York family--were extraordinary. They were all geniuses. Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) was a successful litigator. His wife Etheline (Angelica Huston) raised their children to be ambitious, entrepreneurial, and creative--then published an acclaimed book about her child-rearing techniques. Adopted daughter Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) was a gifted playwright. Son Chas (Ben Stiller) was a masterful businessman with a taste for real estate. And the other son, Richie (Luke Wilson), was a natural tennis champ. However, when Royal packed up his life and left his wife and his family in a cloud of betrayal, everything fell apart. Twenty years later, the Tenenbaums are a dejected and alienated bunch, each having found that their early successes did not carry over into adulthood. When washed-up Royal learns that his distant wife Etheline, who has become an archaeologist, may remarry, he feigns illness as an excuse to reunite with his estranged family. From Wes Anderson, director of RUSHMORE, this film is full of quirky comedy that will have audiences reeling and reflecting simultaneously. The brilliant script is impeccable with choppy, intentionally awkward language delivered with dry wit by the well-appointed (almost too good to be true) cast. Dramatic sets are emphasized by the film's masterful orchestration of scene changes and chapter separations. The photography beautifully captures a faded, vintage 1980s New York. And the eclectic soundtrack features much-loved tunes by Nico, The Velvet Underground, The Clash, and the Vince Guaraldi Trio. [More]

Starring: Gene Hackman, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anjelica Huston

Starring: Gene Hackman, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anjelica Huston, Luke Wilson, Danny Glover, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray

Director: Wes Anderson

Director: Wes Anderson
Screenwriter: Owen Wilson, Wes Anderson
Producer: Barry Mendel, Scott Rudin, Wes Anderson
Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh
Studio: Touchstone Pictures

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Release:

Jan 1, 1996

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • The Royal Tenenbaums
  • Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) and his wife, Etheline (Anjelica Huston), had three children -- Chas, Margot, and Richie -- and then they separated. Chas (Ben Stiller) started buying real estate in his early teens and seemed to have an almost preternatural understanding of international finance. Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) was a playwright and received a Braverman Grant of $50,000 in the ninth grade. Richie (Luke Wilson) was a junior champion tennis player and won the U.S. Nationals three years in a row. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster. Touchstone Home Entertainment is proud to present Wes Anderson's hilarious, touching, and brilliantly stylized study of melancholy and redemption.
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for The Royal Tenenbaums

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    Despite countless unique and amazing moments, the movie doesn't quite come together--which may not, in fact, go against the director's master plan.

    Full Review Source: City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul | comment Comment
    08/27/09
    Rob Nelson
    Rob Nelson
    City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul

    As with Anderson's Rushmore, there's a certain annoying preciousness to this film -- it's not so consistently wise or amusing as he thinks it is -- but it has its moments.

    Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
    08/14/08
    Richard Schickel
    Richard Schickel
    TIME Magazine
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Wes Anderson has made his masterpiece. It's going to be hard for him to match it.

    Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
    08/14/08
    Channel 4 Film

    A wacky story that bumps up against one's heart as often as it does one's funny bone...

    Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
    08/07/08
    Mark Halverson
    Mark Halverson
    Sacramento News & Review

    As richly conceived as the novel it pretends to be...

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    07/22/08
    Todd McCarthy
    Todd McCarthy
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Whatever my qualms, it's still one of the funniest comedies around.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
    05/27/08
    Jonathan Rosenbaum
    Jonathan Rosenbaum
    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    To call it merely peculiar is a gross understatement.

    Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment 4 Comments
    10/13/07
    Susan Granger
    Susan Granger
    rec.arts.movies.reviews

    Forget Max Fischer - this is Wes Anderson's opus.

    Full Review Source: Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) | comment Comment
    10/04/07
    Josh Larsen
    Josh Larsen
    Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)

    Anderson's film continues his exporation of dysfunctional families, this time a round done as novelistic film, with title cards for each chapter.

    Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
    08/28/07
    Emanuel Levy
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    Mr. Anderson and Mr. Wilson are gifted artists, and I look forward to seeing them produce something that strives for more than just sustaining their own hype.

    Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
    07/14/07
    Joe Lozito
    Joe Lozito
    Big Picture Big Sound

    A comedy of unrequited love, melancholy and disappointment. One to savour.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    06/24/06
    Geoff Andrew
    Geoff Andrew
    Time Out

    It's one of the year's very best films.

    Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
    05/26/06
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Combustible Celluloid

    Very funny and painfully relevant two hours of entertainment.

    Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
    12/06/05
    Ron Wells
    Ron Wells
    Film Threat

    Wes Anderson simply has a unique way of looking at the world, and through him the ridiculous is made sublime. He has a hell of a distinctive style for someone his age. It would appear he might even be some kind of goddamn genius himself.

    Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
    12/06/05
    Tim Merrill
    Tim Merrill
    Film Threat

    Surpasses expectations.

    Full Review Source: Zertinet Movies | comment Comment
    10/05/05
    Steven Snyder
    Steven Snyder
    Zertinet Movies

    A strong imagination is at work in every part of the picture.

    Full Review Source: Nation | comment Comment
    03/03/05
    Stuart Klawans
    Stuart Klawans
    Nation

    You can tell Anderson loves this family, as screwed-up as they are. Because he does, we come to love them too. ... If there's hope for the Tenenbaums, there's hope for all.

    Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
    01/15/05
    Jeffrey Overstreet
    Jeffrey Overstreet
    Looking Closer

    Indulges in a set-up that bleeds far into the film. Scattered, the production lacks build. Hopes that oddity will be enough to entertain and sometimes it does.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
    01/09/05
    Ross Anthony
    Ross Anthony
    Hollywood Report Card

    Don't be prodded into thinking the movie must be brilliant just because the characters within are allegedly smarter than you are.

    Full Review Source: Bangitout.com | comment Comment
    11/30/04
    Jordan Hiller
    Jordan Hiller
    Bangitout.com

    Wes Anderson poses a strong challenge to the Coen brothers when it comes to slightly surreal, screwball comedies.

    Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
    06/22/04
    Judith Egerton
    Judith Egerton
    Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
     
     
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