Asteroid City (2023) and Wes Anderson Whimsy, Generally

I caught Wes Anderson’s latest exercise in whimsy, Asteroid City, and I wasn’t thrilled. This one is more cartoon than live-action, though it is a live-action film. It really double-pumps the whimsy. Whimsy for days.

The picture at the top was a totally random selection from the film, and if you think I hit it lucky, you’re way off. This entire movie is like that picture. Half of it is elaborate paintings that surely must have cost a small fortune to get done, and the other half is expensive actors such as Tom Hanks, Scarlet Johanssen, and many, many others.

Last time I wrote about Anderson, I was looking at the Royal Tennenbaums, a movie I want to like but really don’t like all that much. Bottle Rocket, released in 1996, still holds up as my favorite film. The second, Rushmore, released in 1998, I like, but it has a mean spirit, and honestly I’m not a huge fan of Jason Schwartzman if you make me admit it, but Bill Murray, yes, and Murray has been in every Anderson film up until the last one. I checked, and he doesn’t appear in Asteroid City. The French Dispatch was just okay. I like it but I don’t love it. My guilty pleasure Anderson film is The Life Aquatic, which also stars Murray. I really like that one. Moonrise Kingdom I only watched once. Same thing with The Grand Budapest Hotel. The Dharjeeling Limited is not great at all. I think it is probably the worst Anderson film, if you made me declare it.

I think I can officially declare myself off the Anderson band wagon, though it’s been a long time coming. I’m pretty tired of all the whimsy, the cartoon stuff. I think it would be cool if Anderson tried another type of film, one that isn’t meant to be taken as whimsy.