Amanda Aikman, Managing Editor

UT mUelatayANd

Tenenbaums) assembles
an enviable and comical-
ly offbeat cast of
characters and invites us
to spend a couple of
hours in their delightful-
ly warped world. This
time around, we get to
go on a boat with Steve
Zissou (Murray), a sec-
ond-rate Jacques
Cousteau whose glory
days are well behind
him; Ned Plimpton
(Owen Wilson), an Air
Kentucky co-pilot and
Zissou’s supposed long-
lost son; Jane
Winslett-Richardson
(Cate Blanchett), the
pregnant reporter who

F E AQUA catches the eye of

Pate

ei

Cat

[ ven fa lem Jeff
WILSON BLANCHETT HUSTON DAFOE GOLDBLUM

 

ill Murray is great. Not that that should
come as a surprise to anyone. After all,
he’s proven it repeatedly in such well-
received films as Caddyshack, What About Bob,
Rushmore, and Lost in Translation. But, for any-
one still harbouring any doubts, Wes
Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is
now in theatres—go see it. Bill Murray is per-
fect in this movie, no doubt in part because
Anderson created the character of Steve Zissou
with Murray in mind. Everything about the vet-
eran actor—from his faultless comedic timing,
to the way he eerily relays the perfect blend of
desperation and depression with just one facial
expression, to the way he looks in a red touque
and Speedos—is ideal for this film.
But Murray isn’t the only thing that
makes this movie great. As usual, Anderson
(Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal

12/8005

Zissou and more than
the eye of Plimpton; and
Klaus Daimler (Willem
Dafoe), who steals many
a scene as the loyal but
oo dimwitted German crew

ie member. And as if that
Byes ae weren't enough, Jeff
a Goldblum, Angelica
Houston, and Michael
Gambon are all on
board as well. Even
Brazilian pop singer Seu
Jorge joins the fearless
crew, sharing his screen
time with a guitar, singing acoustic versions of
David Bowie songs—in Portuguese.

Together, this quirky gang
embarks on a “revenge”
voyage, to make a doc-
umentary film -
about the locat- ;
ing (and 7 %
possible 7
7

i

 

 

killing of) the elusive “jaguar” shark that ate
Zissou’s long-time friend and partner, Esteban.
Along the way “Team Zissou” encounters
funding problems, pirates, a three-legged dog,
and some very odd looking sea life.

The premise alone is funny enough, but in
the hands of the talented actors and filmmak-
ers here, the result is top-notch hilarity. Smart,
yet silly, at the same time—not an easy balance
to maintain. But The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
pulls it off, and pulls it off well.