A movie about the moonrise

As weird as it is to say the word, “moonrise,” you can bet your bottom dollar that a movie Wes Anderson makes about it is going to be just as weird. Funny, yes, but weird, oh FO SHO.

You’re familiar with the guy – maybe you saw The Royal Tennenbaums, I Heart Huckabees or The Fantastic Mr. Fox? My personal favorite was The Darjeeling Limited… Some of you probably haven’t seen any of these, and my guess is that the majority of you have either seen them ALL, or only seen Mr. Fox.

A few things you should know about most of Mr. Anderson’s movies… There is always an all-star bill, there is never anything assumed and you can be guaranteed that Bill Murray and/or Jason Schwartzman is going to make an appearance. Moonrise Kingdom‘s cast includes a hilariously believable Edward Norton as the Scout Master, a banal (but funny) Bruce Willis as the town sheriff, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and Harvey Keitel (along with BOTH Murray and Schwartz).

The story is of two kids in love who run away to be together, chased by the town’s do-gooders, one set of controlling parents and a serious hurricane. As a Khaki Scout, they’ve all they need to survive, and a record player. I think it’s hard for any reviewer to adequately paint the picture of any of his flicks, because they are so serene and can be taken deliberately by some and completely transcendental by others.

For me, Moonrise was quirky, soft and sad, but it made me laugh and invited me to unknowingly linger on deeper thoughts. I would say it’s a simplistic take on the deeper feelings we may feel but don’t really divulge or act upon. Anderson’s characters in this one show different ways we humans do either… via all ages, personalities and extremes.

In my opinion, Anderson is always slightly making fun of us silly humans… but it’s humbling, hilarious and (if you’ve got a light heart, eager imagination and patience for fuzzy prose) well done every time.  Kudos, Wes. I give this one a “WORTH SEEING!”