Movie Review: Asteroid City

 Movie Number 30 of 2023

The Movie: Asteroid City

The Cinema: Village Cinemas Rivoli, Camberwell

Stars: 4

Sitting at the hairdresser's this afternoon, I was trying to explain the joys of Wes Anderson films to Maddie the apprentice. 

"Wes Anderson is bonkers. But he's great. Everything is stylised. His films have got a bit of a French feel to them. There's often a narrator who tells you what's going on. The humour is quirky. And he uses the same actors. But mostly, his films are bonkers in the best way possible."

That sums them up. 

And Asteroid City is no different. 

So, what's this about? According to RottenTomatoes.com the tagline reads, "The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events."

This explains most of it. There's also a play within a movie, which is a little confusing, but I quite liked that too. Made things interesting. Switched things up a bit. 

The great think about Wes Anderson's movies is his cast. 

There's Brian Cranston as the narrator. His gravelly voice is perfect for this. 

Jason Schwartzmann is Augie, a bereft father bringing his four kids to this space camp where his oldest son Woodrow (Jake Ryan) to this space camp, along with his three younger daughters (played by fraternal triplets, Willan, Anna and Gracie Faris), who for me, stole the movie. They were hilarious. 

Scarlett Johannson is Midge Campbell, a movie star on the edge, who's brought her daughter, Dinah (Grace Edwards) along. She appears a bit fragile and strikes up a friendship with Augie.

Maya Hawke is June, a scout leader with her troupe of basically well-behaved kids who falls for the cowboy Montanna (Rupert Friend - it's very strange seeing an Englishman play a cowboy). 

Tom Hanks is Augie's father-in-law, who comes out to help with the kids, and the car, which has broken down. 

And of course, Tilda Swinton, Jeffrey Wright, Edward Norton, Liev Schriver, Matt Dillon, Margot Robbie... a cast of thousands are there in the background which will have you scratching your head and saying, "I know him/her from somewhere."

As with all Wes Anderson films, this is highly stylised to the point that it's almost distracting. There are running jokes throughout - the road runner is piss funny. And the world that he builds is a bit of a love song to the America of old, where people had an overarching awe about the world and it's workings. 

This isn't up to the standard of The Grand Budapest Hotel, which lives in my heart as Anderson's best, and most accessible fare, but I really enjoyed this this film. It's fun, it's glorious to look at, it shows America in a simpler time, and the humour doesn't slap you over the face. 

This isn't going to be everybody's cup of tea, but I'm sure a few people will go along and enjoy it. As one critic said, this isn't going to convert people to this director's films, but there are plenty who will go along to see something different. I really enjoyed it, but I like Wes Anderson. 

Today's song: