The Royal Tenenbaums

A suicidal tennis star (Luke Wilson), a misanthropic wooden-fingered playwright (Gwyneth “Pre-GOOP” Paltrow), a neurotic widowed father (Ben Stiller), a family’s faithfully unfaithful patriarch (Gene Hackman), and a mescaline-loving Owen Wilson: These are but a few of Wes Anderson’s beautifully crafted — albeit dysfunctional — characters from the 2001 Helvetica-heavy, candy-colored, contemporary classic The Royal Tenenbaums, headed by an all-star cast set against a meticulously designed, whimsical, and eccentric New York City. The Royal Tenenbaums reigns supreme as a truly transcendent tale of the fragility of family, forbidden love, perhaps the most iconic use of an Elliott Smith song, and the best use of Alec Baldwin’s voice. And, anyway, we always wanted to be a Tenenbaum.