It’s a Wes Anderson movie. That should be plenty (either for or against) when it comes to describing this quirky and whimsical film—with a sneaky-cathartic, heartfelt undertone—about a group of parents and their brainiac kids who gather in a Southwest desert town for a stargazers convention. The cast goes on for days (Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Steve Carell…), but of course, it’s Anderson’s signature stylizing that takes center stage. The film naturally meanders around with what feels like 17 different subplots, but packaged together as it is, it emerges as one of the director’s best, right up there with ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ and ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’.
4/5 stars