Royal | Tenenbaums

The subplot of Margot’s adoption is crucial. The Tenenbaums are a family held together not by blood, but by choice. When Richie declares his love for Margot (“I know you’re adopted. I didn’t know you were a lesbian.”) and they share a quiet moment in a tent pitched in the living room, Anderson argues that love within a family is no less real for being unconventional. The Royal Tenenbaums was a box office moderate success but a cultural earthquake. It popularized the “Anderson aesthetic” that would influence indie film, fashion (the Fendi fur coat, the Lacoste tennis dress), and even interior design for decades. More importantly, it proved that a film could be both achingly sad and riotously funny; that a man in a velour jumpsuit could break your heart.

It is Wes Anderson’s Kramer vs. Kramer if it were directed by J.D. Salinger. A perfect, poignant, beautifully damaged family portrait. As Royal says on his (actual) deathbed: “It’s been a tough year.” For the Tenenbaums, every year is tough. But they have each other. And that’s a hell of a thing.

“I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.” – Royal Tenenbaum