Rated PG, directed by Wes Anderson, with Gene Hackman (Royal Tenenbaum), Anjelica Huston (Etheline Tenenbaum), Ben Stiller (Chas Tenenbaum), Gwyneth Paltrow (Margot Helen Tenenbaum), Luke Wilson (Richie Tenenbaum), running time: 109 minutes
Gene Hackman is the shameless father of three precocious kids: an accounting wizard, a gifted playwright and a former tennis star. Upon learning his ex-wife has plans to remarry, he worms his way back into the home they once shared by telling her he is dying of cancer -- a lie that succeeds despite his wife's quiet contempt for him. Immediately thereafter, their three children, all for different reasons, move back home, setting the stage for one of the year's more memorable films. Director Anderson's forte lies not so much with plot-oriented storytelling as it does with hermetically sealing a world on film. Every knick-knack on the shelves and twitch of each character is there for a reason. The problem is, you might spend more time figuring out the reason than watching the film.
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