The Royal Tenenbaums

One of the most surprising moments of the film was it's fairly abrupt shift into the dark subject of Richie's suicide attempt. Many comedies have had moments of love being rejected, sadness, but they've usually solved these woes with more comedy. It's not exactly the most believable solution, but the comedy is what viewers go to see. It surprised me that Richie was shown attempting to kill himself in what seemed like a somewhat absurd, light-hearted movie about a dysfunctional family.

The two pieces didn't seem to go together, and I think that's what makes the film such an interesting one. A lot of things are entirely out of place in the story. The Tenenbaum children were acting like adults before they were teenagers, Richie's friend Eli is an entirely bizarre character, and in this film there was depression amid comedy.

Watching the film, that almost feels like that point. Such things normally do not fit together or work together, much like the Tenenbaum family. Royal is entirely disconnected from his children, the family cannot function, and this is what creates the comedic atmosphere of the film. Seeing such bizarre events blended with comedy makes the film funnier, more absurd, but the more serious aspects of the film keep it real.