The Touchstone/Hollywood Pictures Bracket -- Round 4

Well, folks, we’re down to the Elite Eight of the Touchstone/Hollywood Pictures bracket. I can quite comfortably tell you I didn’t think these eight films were all going to make it quite so far.

But enough about the introduction. Let me tell you which films I would send to the Final Four.

(1) The Royal Tenenbaums vs. (2) Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Now, this is a matchup I suppose I predicted from the outset, when you consider what seeds these two films are. And these are two of my favorite films of all time. So I’m pleased that they’ve both made it so far.

I will be voting for The Royal Tenenbaums, for two reasons. First, there’s the “Yes, but Roger Rabbit has already won a bracket” part. I imagine the Wes Anderson film is going to net a few votes specifically for this reason, and that’s fine by me. But the real reason is that The Royal Tenenbaums is not only Wes Anderson’s best film, but one of the very best films of the current century. It’s fair to argue that Anderson’s films are too precise or cold or mannered (in that I at least can grasp why the argument would be made, but for the most part, I disagree). But The Royal Tenenbaums feels like the apotheosis of his style, carefully balancing the twee with the tender.

Like, sure, it’s silly to see a man in a track suit whose sons have matching track suits. When that man tells his dad he’s had a rough year…man, I don’t know what to tell you. It hits me hard. Harder as I get older. Roger Rabbit is a classic. I won’t be too heartbroken if it wins. But it shouldn’t.

(5) Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion vs. (6) High Fidelity: I wasn’t sure which films from this quarter of the overall bracket would get to the Elite Eight, but I can comfortably state that I expected neither of these films to do so well. Funny thing is that we have some pretty consistent themes among the Elite Eight. Two Wes Anderson films. Two John Cusack films. Two high school reunion films. And so on.

All of this is to say that I don’t love either of these movies. I like them each, in different ways and for different reasons. But revisiting Romy and Michele is a lot more enjoyable than revisiting High Fidelity, a film whose attitudes have — for me, at least — curdled in the last twenty years. A great cast, but some unpleasant subplots and twists make me less inclined to give it the push. So if I was voting, I would be sending Romy and Michele to the Final Four. Let’s see if they can get there.

(4) Rushmore vs. (6) Grosse Pointe Blank: I’m still shocked that Tombstone knocked out 25th Hour in the last round. I’m shocked at how close Tombstone came to making it to the Elite Eight. Rushmore won, I grant you, but it won by less than ten points with more than 2,500 people weighing in. This was not a rout.

Anyway. I’m voting for Rushmore here, though I do want to emphasize that my enjoyment of the film is far from my adoration of The Royal Tenenbaums, which feels like the movie a director makes once he’s gotten the handle of things. I know Rushmore isn’t Anderson’s first film, but there’s a clear step up qualitatively from Bottle Rocket. (And it’s a huge leap forward with Tenenbaums.) Sorry to John Cusack. You got two movies in the Elite Eight! Take that as a victory.

(5) 10 Things I Hate About You vs. (2) O Brother, Where Art Thou?: Another top seed gets taken down by a high-school-themed favorite! I’m impressed at how far 10 Things has made it in this competition, while at the same time I am ready for it to be taken down. Yes, I will be voting for O Brother, Where Art Thou? here. While it’s not my favorite Coen Brothers film, the soundtrack is great, Clooney is hilarious, and the film has some of the best repeated dialogue in their filmography. (“He’s a suitor!”)