jonaspolsky:

by Jonas Polsky

Fans of Wes Anderson will not be surprised by the striking similarities in the tone and look of his newest film “Moonrise Kingdom” with his previous outings. I do love Wes Anderson, but I think he’s spent enough time and money trying to transport viewers to the same narcotic 1976 daydream we’ve seen so often before.

We’ve seen plenty of inscrutably wise children intensely posed in picture-book style settings, unaware that they are outfitted in adorable retro kitsch.

It’s time for someone to finally shout, “The emperor has no vintage clothes!” Let’s take a look at Anderson’s films and determine the true titles.

“Bottle Rocket” - A group of hapless criminals go on a fruitless crime spree while falling out of friendship and into love.

Verdict: Appropriately titled

“Rushmore” - An underachieving student rebels against the private school he adores and is tragically failing out of to redefine himself, win the love of a classmate, and esteem of father figure, Bill Murray.

More like: “YOUNG TENENBAUMS”

“The Royal Tenenbaums” - A pack of emotionally stunted adult children try to reconcile with their selfish, emotionally distant father who claims to be dying.

Verdict: Appropriately titled

“The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” - Son tries to reconnect with his selfish, emotionally distant father who abandoned him while he distracts himself with a shark hunt.

More like: “UNDERWATER TENEBAUMS”

“Darjeeling Limited” - A group of brothers living in the shadow of their dead, selfish, emotionally distant father travel across India while divvying up, and ultimately discarding their father’s belongings, a metaphor for emotional baggage.

More like: “THE ROYAL TRAIN-ENBAUMS”

“Fantastic Mr. Fox” - Stop-motion animal characters express angst, fall in love, rebel against their parents and hunt down food while attired in Anderson appropriate wardrobe.

More like: “THE WILD TENENBAUMS”

“Moonrise Kingdom” - A younger bunch of Anderson characters chase down love and rebel against the backdrop of a Boy Scout camp.

More like: “CAMP TENENBAUMS”

Don’t get me wrong, I like these movies, but at this point it’s gone too far.

Basically Anderson is telling us the same alienated teenage story with minor variations each time, with identical tone and hipster-magnetizing sensibilities. There’s nothing wrong with his movies, he’s just repeatedly striking the same note to the point of tedium.

I say give Wes Anderson a television series and let him get it out of his system once and for all. Preciously un-hip characters mope around, reading books, being unaware of their iconoclasm and unmentioned devotion to late 1970s artifacts.

He’s a borderline laughingstock. Get it out of your system, and move on to something else.

Haha! Moot point!

I’m a hipster young adult with angst, so I eat up this shit. Can’t get tired of the same story I like, right? Truth is, he’s a director/writer with a considerable ego who likes sticking to the same style. Lucky that plenty of folks love it.

Can’t disagree with this dude here though. lol
A television show would be a great idea for Anderson. I’m sure he has plenty of scripts he could string together.  

I’m a bitch for the music selections though.