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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS
The Royal Tenenbaums

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The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

80%
78%
82%
N/A
N/A
N/A
80 %
Reviews Counted: 166 Fresh: 132  Rotten:34 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.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins

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 Huston) raised their children to be ambitious, entrepreneurial, and creative--then... 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]

Genre: Comedies

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

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

DVD Info

Release:

Apr 2, 2003

[DVD Details]

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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Ratings Image
N/A

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

Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
4/5

One of the cleverest comedies to happen along in ages.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/21/03
Caroline Westbrook
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
5/5

Wonderful, quirky, offbeat comedy-drama.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
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3.5/5

Unforgettably good stuff.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/12/02
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
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3/4

Annoying, but inventive

Full Review | comment Comment
03/24/02
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

Deliciously eccentric.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/18/02
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
5/5

Funny, touching, intelligent, strange... well, let's just stop before we run out of superlatives.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/06/02
Ben Falk
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

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

Full Review | comment Comment
05/27/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
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4/10

To call it merely peculiar is a gross understatement.

Full Review | comment 1 Comment
10/13/07
Susan Granger
rec.arts.movies.reviews
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4/4

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

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

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 | comment Comment
08/28/07
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image
3/4

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 | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
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N/A

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

Full Review | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Ratings Image
4.5/5

Very funny and painfully relevant two hours of entertainment.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/06/05
Ron Wells
Film Threat
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4/5

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 | comment Comment
12/06/05
Tim Merrill
Film Threat
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4/4

Surpasses expectations.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/05/05
Steven Snyder
Zertinet Movies
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N/A

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

Full Review | comment Comment
03/03/05
Stuart Klawans
Nation
Ratings Image
A

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 | comment Comment
01/15/05
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
Ratings Image
2/4

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 | comment Comment
01/09/05
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card
Ratings Image
2.5

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

Full Review | comment Comment
11/30/04
Jordan Hiller
Bangitout.com
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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