Introduction

Abstract

Are any film directors working today as polarizing as Wes Anderson? In less than 20 years and with seven feature films (an eighth, The Grand Budapest Hotel, is set for release in March 2014), he has established himself as a creative force to be reckoned with, inspiring overblown diatribes and excessive praise. Christopher Kelly of Texas Monthly claims Anderson’s films prior to Moonrise Kingdom (2012) reveal that he “never seemed to understand real people” (97), while Jonah Weiner contends, “In every film he’s made, even the best ones, there’s been something kind of obnoxious about Wes Anderson.” A. O. Scott, of The New York Times, remarks that The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) “finally elicits an exasperated admiration. Yes, yes, you’re charming, you’re brilliant. Now say good night and go to bed.” In his review of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Roger Ebert ambivalently concludes, “I can’t recommend it, but I would not for one second discourage you from seeing it.” On the other side, Elbert Ventura, of Slate, and Steven Hyden, Noel Murray, Keith Phipps, Nathan Rabin, and Scott Tobias, of A.V. Club, have credited Anderson with inspiring a stream of recent indie films, including Garden State (Braff, 2004), Napoleon Dynamite (Hess, 2004), Juno (Reitman, 2007), and Charlie Bartlett (Poll, 2007). In Wes Anderson: Why His Movies Matter, Mark Browning claims, “The only movies Wes Anderson films look like are other Wes Anderson films” (ix).