If you are a fan of the eccentric writer/director Wes Anderson, then you will likely enjoy his latest effort, Asteroid City. If you are not into the filmmaker’s weird ways of looking at the world, then this is just another heaping-helping of his odd vision, this time covered in an annoying, brownish-yellow hue.
In the past, I’ve found some of Anderson’s work entertaining, but somewhere along the line his films crossed the line of being amusing into being full-on pretentious, as if we are all in on his joke and we’re supposed to laugh along, whether we actually get it or not. Usually, I don’t.
This time the story is set on the set of a 1950s play or TV program about an alien visitation to the fictional Asteroid City during a “Junior Stargazer” convention. As usual, there is a large, all-star ensemble of actors, this time sans the Anderson regular, Bill Murray, who reportedly was down with COVID during the filming.
The strange premise is merely a staging gimmick for the characters to have their odd and awkward interactions with each other. You’ll either find this funny or not. I don’t recall laughing at any of it, it just seemed dumb to me (but maybe I’m the dumb one.)
There is some fun and interesting music in the soundtrack, and there is a dancing roadrunner at the end of the movie that I found somewhat enjoyable… but maybe that was just because it was the end. It’s all just too kitschy and bizarre for its own good.
