Asteroid City, A Wes Anderson Movie -- June 24, 2023

Locator: 45035MOVIES.

Updates

June 28, 2023:

• Wes Anderson movie: most agree that Tom Hanks' role meant for Bill Murray
• most also agree, Tom Hanks not Bill Murray; sad for the movie and the viewers.
  
• Wes Anderson movie: all of a sudden, overnight, the reviews rave about Asteroid City.
• most engaging Wes Anderson tale in years; link to The Conversation;
• Wes Anderson movie: somewhat misleading headline but accurate --
• Scarlett Johansson's new movie Asteroid City sets box office record; full frontal seems not to have been mentioned anywhere (?); up there with Fatal Attraction?

Original Post 

A great movie is one you want to see again. I want to see Asteroid City again.

Do not go to Asteroid City if you are not a Wes Anderson fan.

Even for Wes Anderson this movie is quirky, and, do I dare say it, "over the top"?

I have not seen all his movies, but this one seems he has taken his movie-making, if not to a new level, definitely in a really, really different direction. 

This is the first movie in my life that I made a point of seeing on opening day. And I did. The 10:00 p.m. showing.

Reviews everywhere.

These were the first ones I read and in this order:

• Esquire: a big-hearted masterpiece;
• Twin Cities: profound; feels like movie of the summer;
• Seattle Times: spreads his wings, mostly smooth ride;
• BBC: even Wes Anderson fans may be irritated by this "empty" and "cartoonish" film;
• The New Yorker: humans can leave impact craters, too; Anthony Lane -- raves abut Scarlett Johansson.
• The [London] Guardian: less than expected. Falls apart. But another good review.

But you have to be a Wes Anderson fan to enjoy this movie. I can't imagine any woman friend in my entire life that would enjoy this film. My wife would hate it. LOL. I had to see this movie alone, without snarky comments while watching.

Way different than The Grand Budapest Hotel. 

Had elements of Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): play within a play; meaning of life; A-list actors wanting to be in this movie.

Tom Hanks: playing Tom Hanks in a very small roll but lots of screen time. Too much screen time? As with all actors, no character development. Among 50+ named actors in the credits, he may have been the biggest disappointment. 

Seven Carell: I don't care for him, but he played his role perfectly. It seemed none of these A-list actors felt they had to bee a "lead" actor. Sort of like Willie Nelson and his duets. Never takes the lead in duets.

Tom Hanks' three granddaughters: they alone are worth the price of this movie. Seniors did not get a discount for this movie on opening day (at our local Cinepolis). The three granddaughters, right out of Shakespeare's three witches in MacBeth right down to the cauldron, but this time a Tupperware urn. I've yet to see a reviewer mention that connection, so there's that.

I probably missed 90% of the inside jokes and Hollywood references. 

Would I see it again today? Maybe have to wait a day. I don't know.

Wow, there really are some great scenes: Matt Dillon as a mechanic. Wes Anderson and Matt Dillon exactly capture what they (and all of us) experience when we take our car in for repair; repair, not maintenance. Especially road repair on a road trip. It's either going to cost us 75 cents or $7,500.