Kingdom of Bruce Willis

This was going to be, more or less, a review of "Moonrise Kingdom," which I saw with Mrs. Shoop a couple days back. But that's pretty easy to write: "Blah blah blah pictorially eccentric blah blah blah sense of composition blah blah blah insular blah blah blah indulgent." Which is fine with me--I've seen enough Wes Anderson films to know the drill, and I enjoy it, as I did in this case. If you like that sort of thing, then this is the sort of thing you'll like. What I really wanted to focus on is Bruce Willis, because he's the one who really makes this movie work.

Now that's a pretty sweeping statement, I suppose, since 1) the real star of a Wes Anderson movie is Wes Anderson and his style, and 2) there's a lot of great people in this movie, and they all contribute something decent at the very least. But there's Willis, playing Captain Sharp, and he's terrific in a way that speaks to what makes him, from time to time, valuable. If you think of Willis' best work, he's "ordinary guy stuck in a _____." For example, in Moonlighting, his big breakout TV hit, he's "ordinary guy stuck in a screwball mystery series." In "Die Hard," he's "ordinary guy stuck in an action movie." So it is with "Moonrise Kingdom"--Willis dominates simply by being "ordinary guy stuck in a Wes Anderson movie." By negotiating Anderson's world as best he can within his limited means, with its bizarre characters who don't have first names (or any names, as in the case of Tilda Swinton's "Social Services") and its arbitrary geography, Willis becomes the engaging emotional center of a film that's not big on real-life behavior.

It's probably a lot of fun to be in a Wes Anderson movie--hit your mark and deliver your lines, and let the director take care of the rest. Edward Norton seems particularly freed by the process, having the time of his life staying in motion and rattling off scoutmaster dialogue carrying his ever-present cigarette. The nice thing about Anderson's style is it serves the non-actor children as well as the more experienced performers. But Norton, Frances McDormand, the Anderson regulars, and the kids live in Anderson's world, where nobody talks or interacts like real people. That's charming for a while, but it would get old pretty quickly if it weren't for Willis giving the whole thing a moral, human weight.

So, by all means, check out "Moonrise Kingdom" if and when you can. If you're already an Anderson fan, go for Anderson's Anderson-ness, and the use of Benjamin Britten and Hank Williams in the background. You'll stay for Willis, though.