IMDb > The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
The Royal Tenenbaums
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Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   76,784 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Wes Anderson (written by) &
Owen Wilson (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Royal Tenenbaums on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 December 2001 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Family Isn't A Word... It's A Sentence. more
Plot:
An estranged family of former child prodigies reunites when one of their member announces he has a terminal illness. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 9 wins & 27 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(147 articles)
Best of the Decade #7: Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
 (From FilmJunk. 21 December 2009, 10:20 AM, PST)

Christmas and new year TV films
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 18 December 2009, 5:30 AM, PST)

User Comments:
The perfect balance of drama and comedy more (910 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for some language, sexuality/nudity and drug content.
Runtime:
110 min
Country:
Language:
Colour:
Colour (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Australia:M (TV rating) | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (cut) | Iceland:12 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Philippines:PG-13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Ontario) (video rating: 2004) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (original rating) | USA:R (certificate #38556) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:MG6 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Scenes aboard Richie Tenenbaum (Luke Wilson)'s yacht were filmed aboard the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy training vessel "Kings Pointer," based in Kings Point, NY, Long Island. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Kumar and Royal are in the game closet, there is an shot of one of the Dalmatian mice running across a shelf filled with games. The games in this shot are arranged in a completely different order than in the rest of the scene (and the previous game closet scene). more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Narrator: Royal Tenenbaum bought the house on Archer Avenue in the winter of his 35th year. Over the next decade, he and his wife had three children, and then they separated.
more
Movie Connections:
References The Red Shoes (1948) more
Soundtrack:
Christmas Time Is Here more

FAQ

What is the name of the song played during the bus scene with Margot and Richie?
Where did the phrase "let's shag ass" come from?
Why does Richie say he's going to kill himself tomorrow when he tries to kill himself at that moment?
more
99 out of 122 people found the following comment useful.
The perfect balance of drama and comedy, 9 November 2004
10/10
Author: mneilson-2 from Dunedin, New Zealand

I loved this film.

The Tenenbaum's dysfunction (while amplified for the screen) is quite an accurate portrayal of family life. Families are, essentially, groups of people living in each other's pockets, and, invariably, those people who love you and hate you the most.

Don't get me wrong, Royal and his (thermo)nuclear family of brilliant buffoons do not represent my family (or any other in the world I think!) but the family united against a miscreant father is a motif a lot of people can understand. It is this common humanity that really appeals to me as a film watcher, and what, ultimately made this film so very memorable to me.

The ensemble cast is astonishingly proficient. They all lend a perfect quirkiness to the roles. Anjelica Houston is the perfect former Mrs Royal Tenenbaum, down to the smallest nuance, Ben Stiller and Luke Wilson turn in wonderful performances, and this is the only role I've seen Gwenyth Paltrow in where I actually thought she was someone other than Gwenyth Paltrow (this is not an insult, it's just that people don't always do it for everyone, you know...?). Bill Murray, Gene Hackman, Owen Wilson, all excellent, all the time.

The black comedy counterbalanced with the drama of the issues raised in this film left me feeling like I'd witnessed a film event, rather than just another film. I loved every frame of it, from the Baldwin narrated opening, to the final tying up of ends. It never dwelled on melodrama, or the more potentially unsavoury elements, and it didn't sink into the schmaltzy "We all love each other" end it could well have. It began perfectly, and it ended perfectly.

I can't recommend this movie more highly. It's a must see for anyone who loves quirky and emotive storytelling, great characters and beautiful dialogue.

10/10

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