Asteroid City

Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Screiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Jake Ryan, Tony Revolori, Sophia Lillis, Fisher Stevens, Bob Balaban, Rita Wilson, Jeff Goldblum
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2023

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A large collection of different people converge upon the small town of Asteroid City for a youth science event.

Review:

Tim: I've really grown to appreciate Wes Anderson, as he advances his career and continues to make movies in his incredibly unique style. His commitment to his vision and approach demands respect. That being said, Asteroid City feels like a minor effort from the director. It's good, it's entertaining, but the story never feels meaningful. Truthfully, the story never feels like it matters. There's far too many characters and each one needs their own quirky, humorous moments in front of the camera. It's one of the testaments to Anderson's skill that each person gets that. However, it all feels like it adds up to too little. The individual components are good and oftentimes great, but the sum never gets beyond "good".

As I said, the story is flimsy. There's a youth stargazing event thing, where brilliant children from around the country show up and are judged on their various insane, beyond belief inventions. They bring their quirky families, as well as the quirky military people, the quirky locals, etc. You get the idea. There's an alien. It's all crazy and funny, but it feels like a lot. It's even more when you see that this is just a staged production of a play, complete with those charged with putting on the play, a narrator, I could go on, but let's just say that Anderson throws everything into this movie. It all works, inexplicably, but it prevented this film from having a chance at greatness. I liked the film always, but I never loved it.

With Anderson's films, the cast is definitely a major draw. I'll go through the cast and add some commentary. The biggest problem is just that no one gets enough screen time. When you assemble an impossibly talented cast, you want them to have more to do. That is true from top to bottom, but I'll probably still comment on the ones that felt most egregiously underutilized. Jason Schwartzman gets top billing and the most screen time. Schwartzman is a longtime Anderson collaborator and their familiarity worked well. Schwazrtman is especially strong in the role. He's confident and charismatic- he's always at his best when collaborating with Anderson. It was nice seeing Scarlett Johansson take on this role. It was a reminder that she's a talented actress and she leverages that talent to deliver an offbeat-but-memorable role. I enjoyed her in this film- she interacts well with Schwarztman in several scenes. Johansson gets a few nice moments throughout the film, but she could always use more.

I do want to start a new paragraph to talk about Tom Hanks. I've been very vocal that he is my all-time favorite actor. I absolutely loved that he was cast in a Wes Anderson film. Of course, his role is way too small and I desperately wish he had more screen time. However, it brought me great joy to see him adapt his style to fit Anderson's approach. Hanks is wonderful in the role and I'm so happy I got to see this. I do wish he had more interactions with the rest of the cast. His time opposite Schwartzman was so enjoyable. He had one scene with Johansson, but it wasn't much to talk about, unfortunately. Still, seeing Hanks here was a definite highlight.

Jeffrey Wright is always a welcome sight. He doesn't get as much to do here as he did in The French Dispatch, but he was enjoyable for sure. Tilda Swinton was fine, unremarkable though. I loved Bryan Cranston as the narrator, but his role was obviously limited. Still, he was quite good in that role. It was fun seeing Adrien Brody show up, another long-time Anderson collaborator giving a good performance. I was so excited to see Maya Hawke here. I really think she'll have an incredible career and it's fun seeing her branch out. She's a really good actress and a strong up-and-comer. It was great to have Steve Carell step in for the absent Bill Murray. Carell is obviously underutilized, but I smiled whenever he came on screen. I was surprised to see Matt Dillon here- can't remember the last time I saw him in anything. Hong Chau was a welcome sight, although she's so limited on screen. I wish she had something more substantial to do. Willem Dafoe was great in a few small scenes. I loved that Margot Robbie showed up, but she does just 1 thing and then she's gone. It almost felt like a "Why bother?" Robbie is so talented, she needed more screen time. I always enjoy seeing Tony Revolori and I was glad he got a few nice lines. Jeff Goldblum always gets me so pumped, but he was limited to one forgettable moment. I loved that Sophia Lillis was cast- I have huge hopes for her and she was effective in her role. Edward Norton got some really nice sequences- he's worked with Anderson a good deal before and he shows up and makes the movie better during his limited sequences. He and Schwartzman have one of the best scenes together (the broken window made me laugh so much). I could go on, but Liev Screiber, Hope Davis, Fisher Stevens, and Bob Balaban just get so little to do. It's a shame. To wrap up my comments on the cast, it's one of the largest and best casts I've ever seen. Anderson gives everyone a chance, a shot to shine, but they are all so talented that you wish each got more to do. The movie is only 1 hour and 45 minutes, so there's not enough time for everyone to get enough screen time. That's a shame. However, it's pure delight to see so many actors and actresses collaborating with one of the quirkiest and unique directors in Hollywood.

That's really why I liked the film- it was great fun to see so many people I like in these odd, funny roles. The movie itself is fine- there's a few hilarious moments, many more decently funny ones. It's a story we haven't seen before. It doesn't always make sense, but it holds your attention. So, I ended up enjoying Asteroid City. It has its flaws, but it's an entertaining, memorable movie. The film is worth seeing and it's another solid entry in Anderson's filmography.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch