A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Date Viewed: 1/1/05

Details:

Bill Murray

Owen Wilson

Cate Blanchett

Anjelica Huston

Willem Dafoe

Jeff Goldblum

Michael Gambon

Noah Taylor

Bud Cort

Seu Jorge

Robyn Cohen

Waris Ahluwalia

Written & directed by: Wes Anderson

Score: 1/2

The Review: Spinal Tap meets Jacques Cousteau, on acid.

Somewhere between satire, parody and pastiche there is a vast universe of meaning, nuance and humor; Life Aquatic is localized somewhere in this no-mans-land. Self-parody must also reside here, considering the pedagogical cross-section of the good ship Belafonte (the Calypso analog) and how often this diagrammatic set is actually used to follow characters around between decks.

There's one of everything here, as if there were some script quota on stereotypes: a quirky figurehead with personal problems who is losing public respect (Murray), the possibly unfaithful spouse who seems to be both the brains and the funds behind the organization (Huston), a long lost son (maybe -- Wilson), a reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper (well, how about a glossy science-for-the-funding-public bimonthly, echoes of Oceanus? -- Blanchett), a dodgy funds manager with passport problems (Gambon), the sycophantic German engineer (Dafoe), the ubiquitous (and clueless) guitar-playing deck-hand (Jorge), an attractive female bosun's mate who mostly goes topless (Cohen), the well-funded competitor (both in research and other matters -- Goldblum), the insurance company stooge, a private Mediterranean island, a retired and converted WW-II sub-seeker that is on its last rusty bearings, a helicopter that desperately needs servicing, a submarine that has been renamed at least once to avoid mention of a now-missing first wife, and mysterious adventures in "unprotected waters" (whatever the hell that means).

Now I'll readily admit this stew was carefully assembled, and is well mixed & seasoned -- but it is more than a bit bizarre, and definitely not to everyone's taste. It helps if you appreciate Bill Murray doing an over-the-top stoned impression (just think Ghostbusters crossed with Scrooged); and it's irrelevant whether you liked Anderson's Rushmore (I didn't, particularly). But just as many people are incapable of accepting argument and logic via the tools of analogy and metaphor, there are many who are insensitive to satire, even satire as humor, or overly sensitive to the subject but do not recognize satire as treatment or entertainment. You know who you are, so avoid this movie.

From an oceanographer's viewpoint, the satire is priceless: the utterly fantastic sea critters are a joy to behold (animated, lighted, rainbow-colored, or not); the hokey underwater plant "roots," as if the kelp beds of Catalina have been transplanted to the Mediterranean; the bogus biology; the mondo bogus submarine that seems to hold the entire crew plus additional passengers; the signature red watch caps; and everyone (except the West Alaskan student research assistants) packing heat.

The quest is for the mysterious jaguar shark, which if it exists, may have eaten Zissou's long-time friend and colleague.

Music by David Bowie, translated into Portuguese and channeled by Seu Jorge.

(1-Jan-05)

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