The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Owen Wilson double bill begins! Why not, after all?

Outline: Jacques-Yves Cousteau-esque Steven Zissou (Bill Murray) sets out to find the shark that killed his partner, along with his possible son Ned (Owen Wilson), reporter Jane Winslett Richardson (Cate Blanchett), and a host of other crew members aboard the Belafonte, including his wife Eleanor (Angelica Huston) and Klaus Daimler (Willem Dafoe).

I am really reluctant to review this movie. As we know, I generally swoon over co-writer/director Wes Anderson. I still haven't gotten the chance to catch Bottle Rocket, but I am sure I will. I am almost sure that swooning will continue at that point.

My reluctance in this case stems from my lack of swooning. I have considered declaring this Anderson's worst movie of the four. What went wrong?

The beauty of Anderson's creations springs from his ability to create perfect insular worlds, rich with detail, possibility, and the faintest hint of nostalgia. Watching these worlds grow out of believably bizarre premise, the audience falls in love with a humourous plethora of enticing and entrancing characters who very rarely, if ever, hit clichéd notes. Also part of the glory of Anderson's work is the moment when the bubble bursts, when reality comes whoosing in to fill the vacuum, and the protagonist must learn how to fit into the world he has been so cleverly avoiding.

The Life Aquatic certainly takes place in its own special world. It is funny. Murray continues in the understatement vein he has been rocking in his old age, while Dafoe practically steals every scene he's in with his crazy German accent and off-kilter one-liners.

The failure, from what I can tell, is the writing team switch-up. Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and Tenenbaumswere all co-authored by Owen Wilson. While he looks like and keeps up the persona of a stoned surfer dude with his shaggy blond hair and slow, Texan drawl, the potential conclusion to be drawn here is that he was the brains of the operation. To call Anderson imaginative is a gross understatement, but new partner Noah Baumbach seems to bring nothing to the table. Thus, while Anderson is off creating wonderful new alternate universes, there is no one left behind to bridge the gap between that world and the audience's.

Most recently, Anderson is attached to a Roald Dahl tale, The Fantastic Mr. Fox. There is no word yet on who, if anyone, will partner with him on the script. For the audience's sake, I hope he can woo Wilson back. B