Wes Andersen's latest flight of fancy reaches Britain's shores this month. The film, about a disloyal, sometimes treacherous and distinctly dodgy old rogue (played superbly by Golden Globe winner, Gene Hackman) who seeks redemption from his disinterested brood (played by Ben Stiller, Gweneth Paltrow and Luke Wilson), finally undergoing terminal illness to win their acceptance, is a distinctly original work by Anderson, the maker of 'Rushmore'. He's quickly giving the Coens a run for their money as one of America's brightest and most ironic film-makers.
This new film is far more accomplished than even the much lauded 'Rushmore', partly because of a wonderful ensemble cast's gusto performances (even Paltrow, shock horror, delivers the goodies) and because of the sheer warmth and wit of the material.
There's nothing worse on a soundtrack than the very song you think is about to come up actually coming up: watch 'Carlito's Way' or 'Being Famous', to witness the 'Lady Marmalade' style-cliches in action. Even Moulin Rouge falls victim to this a tad.
The Royal Tenenbaums never falls into that musical trap and instead goes for the lesser known tracks from the greats (like Lennon's 'Look At Me' and the Clash's version of 'Police and Thieves').
A central part of the film's success is the fabulous soundtrack, opening with life stories of the marriage-damaged children, underpinned by an orchestrated 'Hey Jude' (perfect and clever given that Macca wrote it on his way to visit the young Julian Lennon during his parent's break-up).
Other classics by Nico, Paul Simon and a host of others evoke fantastically the softer and more esoteric side of the 1970s. Every song selection fits perfectly the film's funny and bitter-sweet vibe.
Great track selection: in my mind, the best soundtrack since the Coen Brothers' 'O Brother Where Art Thou?'.