Royal Tenenbaums
I'd heard mixed reviews of The Royal Tenenbaums, so I was a little dubious going into it. And I'd had a grumpy and fretful evening. But the movie turned out to be just what I needed to cheer me up: charming, whimsical, occasionally very funny, and extremely quirky. Among other things, the dalmatian mice made me laugh every time they appeared onscreen.
It's true that there's plenty to dislike about most of the characters. But for me, I thought that even the ones I disliked acquired a certain pathos by the end; I could sympathize with them even if I wouldn't want to have to interact with them in real life. And the quirky stylized tone—voice-over narration, "chapter" titles marked with pages from an imaginary book version of the story, off-the-wall camera techniques, silly character quirks—really worked well for me; somehow, instead of the distancing effect I'd have expected, it made the characters more sympathetic for me.
As usual, not Brilliant Cinema, and the oddness of the timing sometimes leaves dead moments as if they were expecting a laugh that I wasn't providing; but overall a solid movie, well worth watching.
Reminded me in some ways of Unstrung Heroes, though I liked Heroes significantly more.
