The Life Aquatic

Finally got around to Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.  Not as good at The Royal Tenenbaums, but in the same baroque/deadpan style.  Weighed down by Owen Wilson's so-bad-it's-just-bad "Southern" accent (and overall superfluousness), Anjelica Huston's so-deadpan-it's-just-dead performance (in a small but central role), and so-cheesy-they're-not-ironic-they're-embarrassing CGI effects (which feature heavily in the climactic scene.)

Buoyed up by Bill Murray's brilliant reinvention of the same fuck-it-all character he's been playing for years now (not that I'm complaining); fantastic small parts from Willem Dafoe (simultaneously wrapped too tight and unhinged), Cate Blanchett (smart and sexy and, if anything, underutilized), and Jeff Goldblum (unctuous as ever); a handful of great scenes; and Anderson's usual deft touch with understated dialogue.

Comments

[matt]

Yeah, I wanted more out of it too. I enjoyed moments and certain elements, but as a whole it doesn't have the impact of Tennenbaums and Rushmore. Willem Dafoe was noteworthy, especially as I'm not always a fan (see Spiderman.) But, remember the cutaway scene of the ship? I like the Richard Scarry (children's books) idea of that -- a cool idea --but what's it do for the movie except say "we can do this, aren't we clever." Anderson is incredibly smart, clever and detail oriented. That's part of what makes his movies so rich. But what Tennenbaums gets right is that at some point the cleverness gets out of the way of (or at least complements) the characters and story, and the movie leaves you with some really great moments. I can not get the closing pan out of my head that culminates with Ben Stiller and Gene Hackman.

[matt]

Also, the CGI affects: not cgi at all. Some animator of note, I think in some sense they wrote the movie for/around the idea of working with this guy. Not sure exactly who or what the deal is, but . . . why bother.

[Ed]

Why bother indeed. Apparently it was Henry Selick, who directed "The Nightmare Before Christmas" from Tim Burton's story, and the movie version of "James and the Giant Peach", and it's pure, old-fashioned stop-action, no CGI at all. Well, they're still cheesy, and not in a good way (like the cut-away ship--cheesy as hell and totally wonderful.)

Not to get too fixated on the animation, because I'd heartily endorse "The Life Aquatic" if that were the only problem. Maybe Anderson's work just isn't wearing that well with me. The last time I saw "Rushmore" I was surprised by how little I enjoyed it, given how much I loved it at first. I haven't seen "Tenenbaums" in a while, but that was my favorite--now I feel like I need to see it again to see how it holds up.

[Doug]

Ed, a contrarian view: I thought the final scene with the leopard shark was 100% effective within the context of the film. Don't be so literal. Who else in the movies besides Wes Anderson is giving us absurdist meditations on mortality sans God these days? What do you want, the slickness of American Beauty? Go work for Lucasfilms and let Wes keep playing with crayons and handpuppets, you little techno-freak.

[Ed]

I'm not going to let Anderson off the hook here. I'm not being literal, I just resented the self-indulgence in the whole animation conceit. American Beauty? Lucasfilm??? Them's fighting words.

[Tim]

The Music!! How could you not mention the music. The Portugese Bowie songs! The incidental music by Mark Mothersbaugh!

And I also disagree about the animation. I thought the artificiality was perfect. It felt off-kilter but not with a cooler-than thou ironic detachment. Kind of like the characters. Or maybe it's exactly the opposite?

[Ed]

Mothersbaugh's music was fantastic. (He's had quite the composing career post-Devo.) I'm ambivalent about the Bowie songs. Portugese is the most mellifluous language on earth, and I enjoy any opportunity to listen to it. But Anderson turned it into a gimmick: "Can you guess what song it is?"

It's funny--the more I think back on Aquatic, the less I like it. I didn't retain any affection for the characters or empathy for their dilemmas. Maybe the bigger budget burned a hole in Anderson's pocket, maybe he needs Owen Wilson as a collaborator, maybe he's just out of compelling ideas.

I'm also getting turned off by the all-or-nothing attitude of Anderson's fans. It's as if the guy can do no wrong, and if you critique some aspect of his work, you're tossed out of the club. Artists are human, and we all make mistakes. I'm inclined to see Aquatic in that light, and I'm hoping that his next live-action film is a return to form. (I love Roald Dahl, but I'm not particularly interested in The Fantastic Mr. Fox.)