{"id":26578,"date":"2023-06-22T22:51:56","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T05:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=26578"},"modified":"2023-06-22T22:51:56","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T05:51:56","slug":"asteroid-city-isnt-for-everyone-but-fans-will-find-it-worth-a-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=26578","title":{"rendered":"ASTEROID CITY Isn\u2019t for Everyone, But Fans Will Find It Worth a Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 104 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This movie from Focus Features opens exclusively in\ncinemas on Friday, June 23rd<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writer\/director Wes Anderson has been making eccentric and\nvisually striking movies for a great many years now. The personal quirks\npresent in his projects are so distinctive that just about everyone has a\nstrong opinion about him. This reviewer met a random performer in the city this\nweek. After mentioning that I attended a recent press screening of Asteroid\nCity<\/em>, the individual felt compelled to tell me why he wasn\u2019t fond of the\nartist\u2019s work. This rarely happens when you casually mention a movie director\nto a stranger. On the off-chance Anderson might be reading this, he should take\npride in the fact that his work is very recognizable to the public and always\ngarners a passionate reaction. His latest project is no exception. It\u2019s another\nfilm that will infuriate some viewers and fascinate others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The complicated narrative of Asteroid City<\/em> actually\ninvolves the performance of a play. To simplify, the period film cuts between a\npresentation of the actual dramatization written by Conrad Earp (Edward Norton)\nand behind-the-scenes moments with the cast and director putting the show\ntogether. The play involves photographer Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman)\narriving in the title locale with his daughters and son, Woodrow (Jake Ryan).\nWoodrow has won a Junior Stargazer award for a science project and is\ncollecting a prize with other gifted youngsters. Augie is soon forced to share\nbad news with the family and announces his estranged father-in-law Stanley Zak\n(Tom Hanks) is coming to help decide on their next steps. The father also\nbefriends actress Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson), whose daughter Dinah\n(Grace Edwards) is another prize winner. After a very strange event occurs at\nthe site and the town is quarantined by the military, the adults and kids have\ntime to share their troubled pasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As with a few other titles from the director, there is perhaps too much going on, with a massive cast of supporting characters present both in the play, as well as behind-the-scenes. The plot uses humor to deal with characters being trapped together and facing issues like loss, grief and how to move forward in life, as well as what everything around them might mean. However, neither play or film appears to explicitly state its point to the audience. In fact, one subplot involves the star trying to figure out the purpose of the play and whether his performance is worthy of the material. The movie also makes a few amusing references to our dreams and subconscious and what it might be telling us during trying times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frankly, on first viewing this reviewer isn\u2019t sure that he\npicked up all of the nuances. It\u2019s certainly clear that this vagueness, the\nartificial sets and the characters\u2019 bizarre behavior will frustrate many.\nHowever, the unnatural backdrops are absolutely gorgeous to behold. The desert\ntown is a brightly colored wonder with hilariously strange details (from the\nmotel\u2019s row of vending machines, to its cabins, as well as an unfinished road\nthat looms over the town), all of which consistently impress. Simply put, the\ncolorful production design and cinematography is jaw-dropping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And the impressive cast delivers plenty of humor.\nSchwartzman is effective in the lead role and his deadpan delivery is\nwonderful. In particular, the way Augie bluntly delivers bad news to his kids,\nalong with his interactions with Midge. Johansson also stands out alongside\nSchwartzman, adding some humanity and relatable qualities in an otherwise\nexaggerated world. Not all of the peculiarities on display earn laughs, but\nthere is plenty of great supporting work. The town mechanic (Matt Dillon) has a\nhysterical gag involving a car repair, while motel owner (Steve Carrell) gets a\nchuckle delivering teenagers news to a family checking in. Additionally, there\nare entertaining moments with the teens and their bizarre projects, as well as\ntheir interactions with a local scientist (Tilda Swinton).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Admittedly, the end product doesn\u2019t quite reach the\nremarkable heights of a few of Anderson\u2019s previous works (this reviewer\u2019s\npersonal favorites include The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, The\nRoyal Tenenbaums <\/em>and Rushmore<\/em>). But even if it feels a little\noverstuffed and the ultimate purpose of the play and movie might not fully come\nto light during its first viewing, there is plenty to enjoy, ponder and\neventually reexamine. It also delivers a completely original vision and stands\napart from the majority of studio releases. If you dislike Anderson\u2019s work,\nthen this effort will incense you and you\u2019ll be complaining to me about it on\nthe street. However, those who admire the filmmaker will find Asteroid City<\/em>\nworth visiting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 104 minutes This movie from Focus Features opens exclusively in cinemas on Friday, June 23rd. Writer\/director Wes Anderson has been making eccentric and visually striking movies for a great many years now. The personal quirks present in his projects are so distinctive that just about everyone has a strong opinion about him. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":26579,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[213,1905,1906,1907,1908,4660,6251,6743,7700,8548,10188,10438,13425,17752,19076,22881,23015,24103],"class_list":["post-26578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-213","tag-asteroid-city","tag-asteroid-city-film-review","tag-asteroid-city-movie-review","tag-asteroid-city-review","tag-comedy","tag-drama","tag-edward-norton","tag-focus-features","tag-grace-edwards","tag-jake-ryan","tag-jason-schwartzman","tag-matt-dillon","tag-scarlett-johansson","tag-steve-carell","tag-tilda-swinton","tag-tom-hanks","tag-wes-anderson"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26578\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}