In Anticipation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Much like my history with Quentin Tarantino's movies, my history with Wes Anderson's dates back to the mid-1990s.



One day in 1996 (perhaps 1997) Bart Rachmil, my roommate at the time and the only other person who appreciates Anderson as much as I do, came home with a borrowed VHS of Anderson's debut, Bottle Rocket. We watched it, and were more or less in awe. To this day, when I watch it I feel good, as if my possibilities are endless (much like they were when I was saw it at age 22. Of course I was in my first semester of law school, and, though I didn't know it yet, it was both the last place I wanted to be and the first of many decisions that would actually limit my possibilities).

In 1998 we eagerly anticipated his follow-up, Rushmore. An anticipation that probably has gone unmatched in the decade-plus since. As for living up to an expectation--it will NEVER be matched. I saw it in the theater twice, something I rarely do. Bill Murray's role as Mr. Bloom sparked his career's resurgence; no Rushmore, no Lost In Translation. Rushmore is probably my favorite movie. I say "probably" because I'm a pussy. It is my favorite movie. The key to Rushmore was the co-stars: a detailed, personal, living fairy tale-type universe (hinted at in Bottle Rocket) and a prep-school Don Quixote.

The Royal Tenenbaums followed in 2001 and, in my estimation, didn't quite live up to Rushmore--though in saying so I mean to take nothing away from it. I have the impression that many people prefer The Royal Tenenbaums to Rushmore. I presume they hold that preference because they saw The Royal Tenenbaums first; I can understand that one's exposure to one before the other could give the edge to the first exposure to an Anderson-created universe. Still, I feel Rushmore's superior but making that point is not my goal today. The key to Tenenbaums was Anderson's ability to get so much out of a larger cast filled with higher-profile actors.

Three years later Anderson brought The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Bill Murray was back, but Owen Wilson didn't share the writing credit--Noah Baumbach of The Squid and The Whale fame did. The interregnum seemed longer than that between Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, such was my jones for a new Anderson flick. In all sorts of ways this was a more ambitious production than the previous two movies, and in all sorts of ways it managed to disappoint people. The budget was higher, parts were shot on location in Italy and in large, expensive sets. It had Jeff Goldblum and Willem Dafoe--like I said, ambitious. Many think he tried and failed to achieve an emotional depth with the relationship between Wilson and Murray's characters. But these same people were going to be disappointed no matter what. I've spoken to them, I've read their reviews. They're to be dismissed, trust me.

More often than not, these people will only see the movie once.  Like all his movies, repeated viewings help unfold the richness of the whole production--the acting, the production design, the wardrobe, the dialogue. He is a filmmaker. He's not cranking out movies so he can rake in the bucks and show the moneymen they can count on him to bring in the 14 year olds. He's making movies that will stand the test of time and get better with age. Just like the movies he reveres. A craftsman, if you will, in a land full of cheap stucco McMansions.  So I say to those who render judgment on his movies after one viewing: he's making them for us, not you.

Ok, wait a sec--I'm no smoke-blowing lackey--take a look at my review of Tarantino's latest.

Thanks. I think you meant that.

First, The Life Aquatic requires multiple viewings to appreciate the dense panoply of pleasures that Anderson provides. Like Jackie Brown, The Life Aquatic is a lion-in-winter story. Those aren't the easiest to love--it's not sprawling tale of an idiosyncratic family or the coming-of-age story of an awkward by with an explosive imagination.  It's about a dude with a giant ego who's been living a little boy's dream for several decades, making shitty personal decisions along the way.  He gets his chance to do it right this one last time and, like Robert Forster's Max Cherry in Jackie Brown, he does it.



The key to the Life Aquatic is Anderson's deft combination of the detailed, personal, living fairy tale-type universe, a large cast of higher-profile actors, and an aquatic Don Quixote.

Another three years, another Anderson movie: The Darjeeling Limited.  The emotional resonance that people looked for in The Life Aquatic--the proof of maturation that would have allowed them to crown him "Generation's Best Filmmaker", well, it showed up one film too late to satisfy those people. I happen to think this worked out for the best because it knocked him off a path that would bring exponentially increasing expectations.

Emboldened by turning the difficult, ambitious Life Aquatic shoot into a success, Anderson took his traveling circus to India (I've watched enough Amazing Race to know that making anything happen in India is no joke).

Anderson reaches deeper into his characters this time by having only three main characters: the brothers Whitman: Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrian Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman).

Estranged since their father's funeral a year ago, they're forced to reconcile on a train trip across India orchestrated by Francis for the undisclosed purpose of tracking down their mother who's up in the mountains Christianizing locals. The boys spend the film numbing their pain with the best over-the-counter Indian opiates they can get their hands on.

I suspect that because I, my brother, and my mother have never been the same since my dad died--and I've also done my share of pain-numbing--this movie hit home more than most. The Whitmans' mother, played by Anjelica Houston, delivers a line that pretty well sums up how to deal with the unexpected death of a loved one:  "He's gone and we'll never get over it. And that's ok."

Maybe you haven't had to deal with this. But it's true. People want to tell you that the pain subsides with time, and that's true, but it fails to mention a painful truth: relative to other bad stuff that has happened or will happen in your life, the unexpected, premature death of a loved one will never hurt any less. Nor should it. And that's ok. How much you loved that person, and how much of your life that person will miss will never change. So why should you have to get over it? All you have to do is get on with it.

Sigh.

I'm aware his hasn't been the most objective summary of Wes Anderson's films. From me, it never could be. I love him too much.

And that's ok.
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Imposition of Will: Now Hear This

Okay, people. I thought about it, long and hard, and have concluded that the best musical act people don't take seriously enough is Steely Dan. I'm not 100% sure why that is, but it likely has to do with the '70s (on which we can blame oh so many things, including my birth), the ubiquity of their best-known (but not necessarily best) songs on classic-rock stations, and the limiting and only-partially-descriptive term "jazz-rock" used to describe them.

As any major dude will tell you, there's way more to them than that. Them, specifically, refers to the duo Donald Fagen (on the left) and Walter Becker. I see them as a mind-melded single entity, like Jagger and Richards, McCartney and Lennon, Captain and Tenille. Steely Dan as a band-proper only lasted for a few years and a couple albums. After touring tore them down and the benefits of recording with L.A.'s best session musicians became too clear to ignore, the Dan became Fagen, Becker and an army of contributors.

When people call their music "jazz-rock" they're not wrong, but they leave out two extremely compelling components. First, they sling catchy pop hooks like a fat man in a greasy apron slings hash. Why have you heard songs like "Reelin' In The Years", "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", "Peg", "Black Cow" and "Hey Nineteen" on the radio for decades? Because they're fucking catchy, that's why. Before Steely Dan, Fagen and Becker worked in the Brill Building writing pop songs, that's how.

Second, a sophisticated love of language (just look at them--don't they just scream sophisticated?) They can turn a phrase and choose the right word for the right spot with the best of 'em. They can reveal thoughts to you that your own brain wasn't capable of forming on its own. They wield this talent to tell odd, dark slivers of stories that take place on the fringes and in the shadows even in the full light of day. More important, Fagen's voice is the most perfect delivery for all of the above. After all, it's the Dan's secret ingredient--lots of people can play music at the jazz/rock intersection, and lots of people can pen abstract, literate lyrics, but Fagen's voice takes all of that and, well...have a listen, won't you?



Steely Dan remain my favorite music for driving around the streets (not the freeway) in Los Angeles after lunch. They're just too misanthropic to listen to any earlier than that. On the freeway, they're wasted both on traffic jams and on wide-open speed.



See what I mean? How can you not want to "drive west on Sunset to the beach"?

To me, the Dan will always be so evocative of 1970s Southern California. And the more you listen, the easier it is to see why. But the perverse magic of it is that Fagen and Becker are dyed-in-the-wool New Yorkers who moved to Los Angeles for professional reasons and they loved nothing more than casting their jaundiced eye upon its corrupting influences and surface beauty. But without Los Angeles, there'd be no Steely Dan. Of course, while there, they found out that living hard will take its toll.



After releasing Gaucho in 1980, they didn't record again til 2003, though they resumed touring in the mid-'90s. Why? Who are you to ask such an impertinent question? You put out that much awesome you can do whatever you want, ok? Them's the rules!

So, if you're going to dive in to their catalog, you can't go wrong with any of their albums from 1972's Can't Buy A Thrill to 1980's Gaucho. My personal favorite is 1976's The Royal Scam, which many idiots regard as their weakest. Their best album is probably 1977's Aja (if you ever meet a girl named Aja, now you know why.) They returned to the studio in 2003 with Two Against Nature, which won the best album Grammy, though that was really a lifetime achievement award. And I haven't heard the follow up, Everything Must Go, but I'm sure I will eventually. Regardless, stick to the '70s and you'll be fine.

But if you're just gonna go to iTunes and cherry-pick some songs, let me suggest the following:

Any Major Dude Will Tell You
Barrytown
Everyone's Gone to the Movies
Kid Charlemagne
Gaucho
My Old School
Pearl of the Quarter
Sign In Stranger

That said, I suggest buying the remastered albums, which contain liner notes written by Becker and Fagen. If you'd like to know from whom I've bitten my writing style, you should start there.

Extra Credit: Google "Steely Dan Owen Wilson" and also "Steely Dan Wes Anderson". Whether you do that before or after becoming familiar with their music is entirely up to you.

Extra Extra Credit: Fagen has recorded three solo albums; Becker two. Once you work your way through the Steely Dan oeuvre, this is where you'll turn for a fix. You won't be disappointed.

And remember, don't tell your mama, your daddy or mama, they'll never know where you've been.

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4.5 Hours Logged

If anybody ever puts a gun to your head and asks you what's the best music montage in movie history, here's your answer:



Now, if you knew the answer before you clicked through, well, you're either Bart Rachmil, me, or Wes Anderson.

Anyway, enjoy.

And say a prayer for Surf Boy, wherever he is.
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