The Wes Anderson Series - The Royal Tenenbaums(2001)

A reason why I'm watching this show because of Richie Tenenbaum

And Margo Tenenbaum

I do enjoy this show very much for some reason. Maybe because it's a light hearted show, or to see Ben Stiller and Gwyneth Paltrow in serious roles for once. It features 2 things: Kids behaving as adults and adults acting like kids.

This film shows the after of "child prodigies", after they've been featured in papers, gotten their degrees from university, entered into various "smart societies", and .... ???

It doesn't paint a very glamorous picture of them. They suffer from the blows of adult life, death of a spouse, proceeds of a divorce, a career crashing down from the heights, so on and so forth. 

What makes this show a joy to watch is the way that they handle these problems that are thrown. Some take a "hide and escape", others a "let's go round the problem", and finally a  "bring it" solution. But it is also seeing the grown children carry with them the baggage of their past childhood into the adult world, that reminds us of how ghosts of the childhood gone scars for the rest of our lives.

I also like the way how he divides up the story nicely among the 3 children, Chas, Margo and Richie

Chas is the oldest of Royal's 3 children. Since childhood, he he was fiercely possessive of his own things, to the extend of suing his father over some bonds he had. Things were made worse when his wife died in a plane crash, and he was now obsessed over the safety of his own 2 sons.

He is, however, a young financial whiz and got his start managing the family finances.

Margo is Royal's open-secret adopted daughter, with a flair of staging plays, and performed her own at the age of 11. Even as a child, Margo was treated as an adult, with any childish outburst considered as odd. As a result, Margo's personal life is highly secretive, and completely turns what others people's expectation of her are to be.

And who can forget Richie Tenenbaum, the youngest and most good looking of the family. Everything he wanted, he had. But towards the end, whatever he wanted, he was willing to pay for it. Other than being a star tennis player whose career crashed spectacularly upon his sister's marriage, spends his time away on a cruise ship.

How do the stories of the 3 children act out? Do they crash and burn? Is what they want really what they want?It does not have the big star power as like that big hollywood blockbusters, but its simple charm is enough to delight many viewers.

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