Moonrise Kingdom

Before I go off on how great my brother Wes Anderson is, do yourself a favor and see Bottle Rocket if you haven't already. This is when Luke Wilson was actually skinny and before Kate Hudson, the career killer, met Owen Wilson. This movie is the sole reason why the Wilsons took Hollywood by storm for so long. But it's also the perfect introduction into the world of Wes Anderson who is able to capture the dysfunctional family and the unusual and sometimes unhealthy love story like no other. But because all of his movies are so similar in tone, you kind of have to be in the mood to see his films, otherwise they can come off as old hat. I, to this day believe this is why I never liked The Darjeeling Limited. Well that and the fact that Jason Schwartzman had an extended role in it. I'm sorry, but unless he's in a movie where they say the word hand job every five seconds his douchiness is too much for me.

But on to Moonrise Kingdom. From the opening shot of the film Anderson sets the tone for his quirky take on the Bishop family and our latest hero Sam Shakusky. The movie takes place in 1960's New England and focuses on Sam who has escaped his khaki scout camp run by Ed Norton to be with the love of his life Suzy. From that point on, the movie is about Norton's scout camp and Suzy's family putting together a rescue party to find them while Sam and Suzy try desperately to stay together. Sounds simple enough but as with all of Anderson's films that's not all to the story. It seems like with every one of his movies there is a character or a situation that everyone can identify with and this film is no different. Sam is an orphan and it seems as though he cant fit in anywhere due to his social status and the emotional damage he's incurred from losing his parents. Meanwhile Suzy apparently has emotional issues and loses her temper quite easily which has caused her to be distant around her family and gets her in trouble in school. And this isnt helped by the fact that she has become aware of the fact that her mom is having an affair with the local sheriff played by Bruce Willis.  And let's be honest, although John McClane is cool, who really wants him banging their mom? Anyway, the movie is full of great moments between Sam and Suzy; from them bonding due to each other's social ineptitude to them sharing their first intimate moments with each other. And who doesn't remember the first time they got to second base? The entire movie the new couple is not only running from the rescue party but also unknowingly trying to escape before the biggest the storm to ever hit New England arrives. Not to mention the fact that Sam's foster home no longer wants him so they  send Social Services after him to send him to a group home. And I love the fact that they only refer to Tilda Swinton's character as Social Services. It just further makes that whole institution seem so cold and disconnected.

While this may seem like heavy stuff, Anderson has a way of making light of the serious everyday issues we come across. This is yet another reason to love his films, because he makes us laugh at ourselves, our problems, and our dysfunctional families. It's like a cheap form of therapy. There are a couple of great scenes that I dont want to ruin for you but one involves the stand off between Suzy and Sam and the scouts who are sent to bring them in. And the other is when Bill Murray(Suzy's dad) discovers the couple in their tent one morning. Sadly something similar to this happened to me in college, yes college, when some girl's dad stormed his way into my apartment looking for his daughter who was late for her first day of work. Needless to say, he never invited me over for dinner again but that's another story for another time. The point is, we all have our own stories that can relate to what the characters are going through in this movie.  Oh and one thing that shouldn't get lost in this review is how great Ed Norton is in this movie. He plays Scout Master Ward perfectly as the sad little math teacher who secretly never really wanted to give up being a kid in the scouts and takes his job way too seriously but at the same time truly loves the kids. I rate this movie as pretty TIGHT and would definitely suggest seeing it in the theater.