Wes Anderson Interview - AV Club
16 Films Without Which Wes Anderson Wouldn't Have Happened - AV Club
10 Films That Couldn't Have Happened Without Wes Anderson - AV Club
There seems to be a pretty complicated little subculture developing over at the Onion AV Club lately. This week the AV Club had the "crazy" idea of writing a bunch of pieces about Wes Anderson (given that there's a new Wes Anderson film coming out - not that shocking, folks). Apparently several different factions have formed on the AV Club message boards in response to this editorial decision. First of all, there's the people who like Wes Anderson and think he's worthy of the attention the AV Club is giving him. Secondly, there are the "Anti-Wes Anderson" people, who seem to think he's an overrated, self-indulgent bore, and even suggest that the AV Club has been paid by the movie studio to promote Anderson's new movie in their publication. But thirdly, and most interestingly of all, there are the "Anti-anti-Wes Anderson" people, whose stance roughly amounts to, "Yeah, maybe he's not that great, but he's still a really interesting director and I'd rather read articles about him than most other directors, so would these other people please just shut up already."
I've thought about making some comments on the AV Club message boards, but ultimately I just haven't felt like screaming my opinions like a madman only to be drowned out by the suffocating din of the insane and intolerant masses. It makes me appreciate the relative civility and maturity of the comments on my own blog. Seriously. I don't know how they put up with it over there.
For some reason the first thing I thought of when I heard Wes Anderson was, "You mean, Paul Anderson, the crappy game adaptation director?" But alas, I was wrong... What did he direct?
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna let Yoggoth handle this one.
ReplyDeleteI've only ever seen Rushmore after everyone raved about it. It was one of those rare movies I turned off in the middle, I almost never do that. I don't remember much about it, besides some geeky kid and Bill Murray trying to look emotional and complicated. Like I said, I never finished watching it.
ReplyDeleteWes Anderson is one of the more stylistically recognizable directors currently working. He began his career with Bottle Rocket, a quirky romantic/heist comedy. Then he made Rushmore, one of my favorite films of all time. The Royal Tennenbaums, his most successful movie, and The Life Aquatic, a movie which garnered a very mixed response followed.
ReplyDeleteAnderson is often criticized for his limited thematic pallet. His movies always involve problematic father-son relationships and well educated white males. My personal take on this is that there is nothing wrong with making movies limited to subjects with you have some sort of personal experience. If you wish to avoid your own experiences that's fine too.
Herr Zrbo-- one of those rare movies you turned off in the middle? I could understand it if you merely disliked Rushmore for one reason or another, but to single it out seems odd to me. In a world with so many terrible movies why turn off this one if it's at least trying to engage you emotionally-I mean, at least Bill Murray is trying right(I would have given him an Oscar for this performance)?
In a movie that's so narrowly focused on its main character the danger is that those who don't identify with him will find the whole thing preposterous. Perhaps I only like this movie so much because I strongly identify with the hero.
First off, it's been a long while since I've seen the film, so it's hard for me to critique it besides some vague memories I have of it.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people recommended 'Rushmore' to me, and I remember being eager to pop it into the (VCR? DVD?) player when I brought it home. I watched it with an (ex) girlfriend at the time. I wish I could rememember what made me dislike it, I don't think I understood the humor first off. The characters were too quirky. And, I can't stand Bill Murray post-Groundhog Day.
I find him obnoxious, his sad puppy eyes with a bland expression on his face is supposed to show some sort of inner emotional toil, like he's supposed to be some complicated character, but I just don't see it. He reminds me a lot of an older Zach Braff, who I also can't stand. I loved Bill Murray back when he used to do stuff with old SNL alum, but I just don't get him nowadays.
Like I said, I wish I could comment more on the actual film but I hardly remember it, or at least I remember not liking it. To each his own.