10enbaums

Yesterday I decided to watch The Royal Tenenbaums which I've heard great things about yet never really gotten the chance to see for myself. I was pleased because it turned out to be one of those movies where the characters are basically the story. 

It's a black comedy movie about a man named Royal Tenenbaum (I can't believe someone would actually name their child Royal, but anyways) and his family. He has three kids, 2 boys and 1 adopted girl : Chas, Margot, and Richie. They were all child prodigies in each of their fields with the guidance of their mother, Etheline Tenenbaum, who's relationship with Royal had always been long over but never officially severed. The connection with his children weren't better either, except with Richie. The storyline picks up when all the kids are grown-up and pretty much just broken shadows of their former genius selves.

Besides all the quirky detailing and Alec Baldwin as the voice narrator, another good thing about this movie is the soundtrack. Its been re-released a few times but here's the original track listing :

"111 Archer Avenue" by Mark Mothersbaugh "These Days" by Nico "String Quartet in F major (Second Movement)" by Maurice Ravel, played by the Ysaÿe Quartet "Lindbergh Palace Hotel Suite" by Mark Mothersbaugh "Wigwam" by Bob Dylan "Look At That Old Grizzly Bear" by Mark Mothersbaugh "Lullaby" by Emitt Rhodes "Mothersbaugh's Canon" by Mark Mothersbaugh "Police & Thieves" by The Clash "Scrapping and Yelling" by Mark Mothersbaugh "Judy Is Punk" by The Ramones "Pagoda's Theme" by Mark Mothersbaugh "Needle In The Hay" by Elliott Smith "Fly" by Nick Drake "I Always Wanted To Be A Tenenbaum" by Mark Mothersbaugh "Christmas Time Is Here" by Vince Guaraldi Trio "Stephanie Says" by The Velvet Underground "Rachel Evans Tenenbaum (1965-2000)" by Mark Mothersbaugh "Sparkplug Minuet" by Mark Mothersbaugh "The Fairest Of The Seasons" by Nico

Sooo good.

Also, the cast is one of the best in movies to date. I was worried but also excited during the opening credits of the movie because I realized this movie was basically full of awesome people, which generally translates into a bad time. But this is definitely one of the rare exceptions to that rule.

My favorite character - I'm sure like many other people who've enjoyed this movie - is Margot Tenenbaum. I can't say I've watched all of Gwyneth Paltrow's works but I have a feeling this will always be one of her best performances ever.

Things to know about

• Adopted at age 2 and her father never failed to mention this when he introduced her
• A playwright genius, winning a $50k Braverman grant in the 9th grade
• Solemnly expresses her feelings through her face, or any other physical means
• Trademark style -- bob haircut, red hair pin, fur (hopefully faux) mantel, and striped polo dresses
• Managed to start a smoking habit since age 12 without any of her family members knowing it
• Seems to enjoy traveling to far places and courting with strange men (and women?)
• Married twice; first to a Jamaican artist and then to a respected writer/neurologist

FILM FUN FACT \\ the brand of cigs Margot smoked in the movie is only sold in Ireland and discontinued in the 1970s. Wes Anderson (director) explained that this was both because of the 70s theme of the movie and also to make Margot's smoking habit just a little bit stranger.

Cigarettes all the way from Ireland? Sounds very Margot.

Besides Gwyneth's act, Ben Stiller's also very different in this role from his usual slapstick in-your-face comedies. I think about 90% of the time in this movie he's angsty, caused by the death of his wife and daddy issues stemming from childhood.

All the characters were strange and surreal but terribly relatable and likable at the same time. The only normal characters were probably Henry Sherman, the family accountant who falls in love with Etheline, and his son who's enrolled in the military. Even Luke Wilson's seemingly okay character Richie goes dark side when he attempts to suicide on the basis of love for his adopted sister, Margot. By the way, Luke's face here is A+ so if there are any Luke Wilson or Wilson Brothers fans watching this movie they will be greeted with gracious scenes of him with his pretty face full frontal without hobo hairs. It was amusing, though, to see Luke and Owen play bestfriends when in real life they're actually brothers.

Unlike other quirk movies, this one actually has a kind of happy ending, which is nice for a change. We're actually told what happens to them. No mysterious hanging plot left to the imagination of the audience regarding the fate of the characters, which always annoys me in movies. I don't want to guess what happens next in their lives, I want to KNOW. Does that make sense? I feel like sometimes these kind of movies don't know how to end their own abstract flow and so the movie ends 'hanging', usually with some closing dialogue that doesn't have anything to do with the movie but actually it does and the characters fade out on screen into black. 

I don't recommend watching this movie if you're the sort that goes for the no fuss, no muss type of movies, the mainstream clear-plotted ones with some morale message to convey. But if you're into the more strangely enjoyable weird indie kind of movies, like myself, then this should be at the top of your list.

MARIE THE BUNNY

To mention Gloria Steinem's name is to mention one of the most influential female figures in the world. A journalist and activist, she is probably best known for her role as a well-known feminist since the early '70s. She's founded and co-founded many influential social organizations, including the Women's Action Alliance, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and the Women's Media Center, and also co-founded the feminist-themed magazine - the first of it's kind - Ms. magazine. The magazine's first issue was sold out in 8 days!

But she was also a Playboy Bunny.

In 1963, Steinem took on a reporting assignment for an article for Huntington Hartford's Show magazine. The reporting task was no easy one, as she would be going undercover as a Playboy Bunny in the newly opened New York Playboy Club. The objective of the assignment was to dive directly into the world of a Bunny, without restriction, and see what it truly was like to be one.

Was there really a decent job as a Playboy Bunny? Were the girls really making top dollar and living glamorous lives, as the job advertisements of Playboy had promised?

This was daunting for a few reasons, one of the more obvious ones was the fear of being outed as an undercover journalist, reminded there were others before her who had tried but were exposed before they could learn anything of news value about the Bunnies and the Club.

Bunny pic of Steinem as 'Marie' from one
of the promotional shoots she did
for the Club during her investigation

But being the clever woman that she was, Steinem was successful enough in her disguise that she managed to stay a Bunny for about a month without ever getting caught. Steinem's report article was released to the public sometime after her brief bunny stint. The article is quiet lengthy but very well-written, especially being in the format of a journal Steinem kept of her days during the job, including every single detail she experienced and witnessed. From the "Bunny School" all the girls had to attend to learn everything about being a Bunny, to the mandatory bra-stuffing and long serving-hours they endured in heels, making it a very enjoyable and interesting read. It also includes a post-script, listing the after-effects the article had after going public.

After reading her actual report, I can assume the Playboy Bunnies then had more of a dignity in their image and the job description was less physical than it probably is now (one source I read discussing Steinem's experience called the Bunnies 'basically waitresses with tight clothes on'). But what remains the same is surely the treatment and attitude the Bunnies receive from 'clients', which, by Steinem's account, was rarely of any respect at all. If the men back then were already as ill-behaved, I can't imagine what kind of behavior the girls must endure in this time of era. 

Regardless of the occupation and what it stands for, Steinem reminds readers that these girls are more than just pretty things trying to make quick cash off their physic. "All women are bunnies" she notes, reminding us that these women are the same like any other women in other working fields. However you may look at their job, these were real women with real problems, trying to make a decent living in a poorly conditioned environment for the workers. This was a group of real women who supported each other in those unfortunate situations.

New York magazine did an issue a few months ago as a tribute of sorts, featuring Steinem's story and accomplishments for women in journalism. 

NY magz Oct '11 issue

Checkout the amazing online feature here !