Wes Anderson's pictures are at their strongest when they stay grounded, and build absurdism and deadpan on a foundation of characters and plot. Rushmore and Royal Tenenbaums are both exemplary of this.
French Dispatch showed brief flashes of the charm his movies are capable of -- but these were so few and far between, there was just nothing to hold onto. Impeccable casting, and an original feel, but this was an excruciating movie to sit through. Not recommended.
