TheOriginalTiki
Well-Known Member
I know I'm in the minority here, but I absolutely adored Asteroid City. So much that it's neck and neck with Moonrise Kingdom as my favorite Wes Anderson movie. Moonrise definitely has overall stronger characters and a better story, but I admire SOOO much about what Asteroid does with its "documentary-within-a-play-within-a-movie" Russian doll structure.Sitting at the theater for a double feature of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny followed by Astroid City
The movie's interpretation of the play's story probably has THE best cinematography and production design of Wes's entire career. The only thing that might be off compared to his classics is that the character development between the ensemble is spread a little thin.
That being said I think every part of Schwartzman and Johanson's storylines including their extended families provided an excellent central heart for the movie, and people like Cranston as the narrator, Steve Carell as the off-putting hotel manager, and the shenanigans with Mia Hawk and the kids are just all super delightful in their own way. While this side plot probably has the least screentime out of anything, I absolutely died laughing every time the "dare me???" kid was on screen.
The "Masterpiece Theater" style documentary stuff though...*chef's kiss*...it just all lands SOOO well for me. Some much needed toned down and more low key cinematography complimented by the film's true emotional character beats. It's definitely not an entry level Wes Anderson film by any means but as someone who's avidly consumed his career this is pretty damn near the top of the pile for me. It's both "The Most Wes Anderson that Wes Anderson Has Ever Wes Anderson'd" (tm) and also feels like a genuinely bold push forward in some of its narrative structure.
Alright, there's my geek out moment for the day.

