Wes Anderson’s take on the dysfunctional family balances the odd and appealing style with an insightful look into a damaged nuclear family, the two butting heads a bit too often.

A retired tennis player famous for his on-court meltdown sits at the dinner table with his failed prodigy playwright sister, his business-minded and safety-skittish brother, his motherless nephews, and his author mother (and soon to be stepfather) while he advocates for their estranged father to move back into the family home.

Eccentric and detailed characters? Colourful and flat shots? Straight to-the-point dialogue that can be simultaneously humorous and horrifying? The Royal Tenenbaums ticks all the Anderson-ian boxes and delivers a witty and compelling tale years after its release, yet the 2001 comedy/drama has not passed the test of time unscathed.

The Royal Tenenbaums opens with a long expose on the eclectic family, Alec Baldwin detailing each of the prodigies as he narrates their complicated relationships with each other. It is easy to find yourself lost in the wave of information that is biographically presented but the fast-paced messiness eases in the dream-like world that our titular family reside in; many jokes and traits sprinkled across the prologue that either become relevant later or serve to further disconnect the family from each other.

Cut to 22 years later and each of them have their own life accompanied with their own party of side characters, soon to be reunited as the patriarch of the family, Royal (Gene Hackman), tries to rekindle a fire that never existed.

After hearing that his separated-but-still-wife is considering a proposal offer from the family accountant, Royal tries to weasel his way back into the family under the guise of stomach cancer.

The family is split on what to do: Royal’s clear favourite and ex-tennis pro Richie (Luke Wilson) convinces his siblings to let their father back into their life. Ever since they were children, Royal would always favour Richie while shunning the others, leading to a palpable resentment.

As Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Chas (Ben Stiller) wear their resentment for the old man with pride, the relationship between the kids hurts to watch knowing that their father drove such a colossal wedge between them. Not only were each of them prodigies, but by picking favourites their father drove them to insanity in search of his approval.

It is tough to then empathise with Royal as he once again wants to be a part of a family he selfishly tore apart. When she was a child, Royal would always introduce Margot as his adopted daughter, distancing her from a family she already felt cut out of.

Later, as they eat ice cream, Margot asks Royal if he remembers her middle name, to which he assumes she doesn’t have one. Her middle name is Helen. “That was my mother’s name,” Royal replies solemnly. Somehow, even though she doesn’t expect anything from the man who is only her father by law, he disappoints her. Softly, she says, “I know it was.”

The straight-to-the-point whimsical dialogue works well within their strange land, furthering the uniqueness and loneliness of the family from themselves and from everyone else. But when the film tries to expand on their sadness, it falters as the family brushes over their traumas, both past and present. Does this mean that they are simply disinterested or is it simply a problem presented by Anderson’s obsession with his stylisation? Either way, the heavier moments tend to feel empty instead of empathetic.

While the story is simple as Anderson focuses on the relationships (or lack thereof) between the family members and their friends/partners, their lives never seem boring as the Tenenbaums are always jumping from one turmoil to the next in quick succession.

Most of the themes across the film resonate with their pasts and feel natural within their nuclear universe (albeit it would be hard not to notice their oddity if they walked past you on the street), yet one particular story grinds the second half of the film to a near halt. 

Growing up, Margot and Richie were very close which led to Ritchie forming romantic feelings towards his adopted sister. While the idea of siblings being involved with each other can be a very fine line to walk, Richie’s past allows him some leeway regarding his emotional stability. Unfortunately, when he opens up to his sister, she reciprocates his feelings and the pair kiss uncomfortably until Margot decides that this isn’t what she wants. Yes, both had tough childhoods, creating an understanding between them and the viewer but when Richie defends his feelings, the semantics between adopted and biological sibling are brought up. Raised under the same roof, the pair are brother and sister, whichever way you look at it, and while the incestual tone mirrors each of their personal insanities, it is a hard scene to look past.

By the end, everyone seems to get away on the happier end of the scale: Margot writes a mediocre play, Richie coaches junior tennis, Chas relaxes with his kids, and their mother, Etheline (Anjelica Huston) writes a new book. Even the secondary characters get their own send-offs, especially Raleigh (Bill Murray) going on tour with the comic relief Dudley (Stephen Lea Sheppard) for their new book. Royal gets what he wanted: a pseudo-relationship with his family that after everything he put them through, is mostly undeserved.