It's a Wes Anderson movie. There you go. That should be enough to explain this film for those "in the know." For those not in the know, the movie takes place in one of those Wes Anderson universes where everyone is strange, nobody really has emotions so to speak, but they all love each other in a way.

The "plot" of the movie, so to speak, is Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman, excellent as usual) attempting to reconcile with his family--his ex-wife (Anjelica Huston, who needs more to do), his adopted depressed daughter (Gwyneth Paltrow), his obsessive-compulsive widower son (Ben Stiller, basically in a straight role), and his tennis pro son who harbors a crush on his adopted sister (Luke Wilson, in such a straight role that at times he seems to disappear from the movie). Complicating matters is his ex-wife's relationship with a new suitor (a comfortable Danny Glover) and a love triangle between his adopted daughter, his son, his son-in-law (a funny if underused Bill Murray), and a family friend (Owen Wilson).

Through a series of vignettes, some funny, some sad, some dull, we explore the family. As typical with Anderson's films, the weirdness of it blunts what emotional impact it might otherwise have (can we take seriously Ben Stiller's love for his kids if one of them is named Uzee?). As is also typical, the film is visually stunning (with a lot of leitmotifs--I enjoyed the continual image of books), boasts an interesting musical score, and has a fine gallery of supporting players, including Royal's assassin-cum-valet, an amnesiac colorblind kid, and as always, Seymour Cassel.

While only 108 minutes, the film seems much longer and in some ways is a twisted version of Gosford Park in that there are numerous subplots running underneath the "plot." Narration by Alec Baldwin seems occasionally hamfisted as well. Overall, I did enjoy the film, though I don't know if I could take a repeat viewing.