- 2,760
I just watched this movie tonight. As a huge fan of Wes Anderson, I was monumentally disappointed. This film is a flop. The characters are largely unlikeable and appear to be made of stone. I couldn't muster even a single iota of empathy for anyone aboard Steve Zissou's oceanographic boat, the Bellafonte.
Willem Dafoe plays an insecure German whose sensitivity coupled with his accent is supposed to make us laugh. Cate Blanchett is a 5-months pregnant reporter on board to document what might be Steve Zissou's last adventure. Angelica Houston plays her usual crusty, emotionless b*tch. Owen Wilson plays Zissou's supposed son from many years ago (he's also a pilot for the little-known Kentucky Airlines). Jeff Goldblum plays Steve Zissou's arch-nemesis, an oceanographer himself, but one who continually steals the grant money away from the more "noble" Steve Zissou.
What I'm getting at - and indeed what you may have noticed from the motley crue listed above - is that Wes Anderson's usual talent for creating unique and abnormal characters whose oddball natures make them all the more endearing to the audience, has lost its fizz. It simply doesn't work here at all. Not even poor Bill Murray - perhaps the most underrated, underappreciated, and most Oscar-deserving actor in Hollywood today - can manage to make us give a **** about Steve Zissou or anyone aboard his ship.
That the story is directionless doesn't help things either. I suppose the point was to make the movie feel like a documentary, with a "who knows what will happen next" feel to it. But this movie is not reality based, like a documentary. It doesn't mock the real world either, like a mockumentary. It's more a fictional story than any sort of twist on the documentary form, and the result is a pointless film with no satisfaction at the end of it.
The music is almost 100% garbage as well, another surprise from the usually musically-rich and unique world of Wes Anderson.
I'd love to say fans of Anderson's previous films (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) will understand and enjoy this movie, but if there was ever a "#1 fan" of his work, it's me. And I found myself wanting to either fall asleep or walk out so I could fall asleep at home after just a half hour.
Willem Dafoe plays an insecure German whose sensitivity coupled with his accent is supposed to make us laugh. Cate Blanchett is a 5-months pregnant reporter on board to document what might be Steve Zissou's last adventure. Angelica Houston plays her usual crusty, emotionless b*tch. Owen Wilson plays Zissou's supposed son from many years ago (he's also a pilot for the little-known Kentucky Airlines). Jeff Goldblum plays Steve Zissou's arch-nemesis, an oceanographer himself, but one who continually steals the grant money away from the more "noble" Steve Zissou.
What I'm getting at - and indeed what you may have noticed from the motley crue listed above - is that Wes Anderson's usual talent for creating unique and abnormal characters whose oddball natures make them all the more endearing to the audience, has lost its fizz. It simply doesn't work here at all. Not even poor Bill Murray - perhaps the most underrated, underappreciated, and most Oscar-deserving actor in Hollywood today - can manage to make us give a **** about Steve Zissou or anyone aboard his ship.
That the story is directionless doesn't help things either. I suppose the point was to make the movie feel like a documentary, with a "who knows what will happen next" feel to it. But this movie is not reality based, like a documentary. It doesn't mock the real world either, like a mockumentary. It's more a fictional story than any sort of twist on the documentary form, and the result is a pointless film with no satisfaction at the end of it.
The music is almost 100% garbage as well, another surprise from the usually musically-rich and unique world of Wes Anderson.
I'd love to say fans of Anderson's previous films (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) will understand and enjoy this movie, but if there was ever a "#1 fan" of his work, it's me. And I found myself wanting to either fall asleep or walk out so I could fall asleep at home after just a half hour.
