Yes No Maybe So: "Asteroid City"
Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 10:15PM 
Sometimes I think I'd feel more at home outside the Earth's atmosphere.
Wes Anderson's new film Asteroid City, which takes place in a fictional townin 1955 arrives in theaters on June 16th. The official synopsis goes like so...
The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.
So it sounds a little Moonrise Kingdom with a splash of the flashbacks to the precocious youth of The Royal Tenenbaums are the closest sibling in the Anderson filmography. That's a thrilling thought since those are the two best Anderson pictures (if you ask me)
Some of our information about outer space may no longer be completely accurate. Anyway there's still only 9 planets in the solar system as far as we know.
Originally we thought we'd do a traditional Yes No Maybe So of the trailer. But it occurs that Asteroid City couldn't look any more Andersonian if it tried. So either you're a yes for his whole schtick/vibe or you're a no.
Are there even any Maybe Sos out there in the world at this point when it comes to that filmography?
In short, I'm a yes even though I usually don't love his pictures as much as I love Moonrise Kingdom and The Royal Tenenbaums or as much as the Oscars loved The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Still give me everything Scarlett Johansson in this trailer. Love that exchange with Hope Davis about her acting. ScarJo has been through many interesting iterations in her career but in a way joining Wes Anderson's troupe feels very full circle since she started out as such a deadpan adolescent (see Ghost World) and that's so inside his wheelhouse.
The other really nifty thing about the trailer, beyond multiple good verbal jokes, is how non-three dimensional it feels with its flat matte-painting backdrops and the boxy compositions.
Reader Comments (13)
Yeah. I want to see this. I love Wes Anderson.
People are interested in watching the upcoming American science fiction romantic comedy-drama movie Asteroid City this weekend.
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I noticed Matt Dillon is in this and had the same thought you expressed about Scarlett. His whole weird chill/unchill persona is kind of perfect for the Wes Anderson vibe.
this looks like someone made a movie to look like a wes anderson movie. it's a WA movie on asteroids...I mean steroids.
This looks like a lot of fun, and I love the concept of aliens at a space camp, and some of the 1950s government/atomic bomb testing stuff it's hinting at. I appreciate how Anderson tells stories about people caught in slightly larger worlds.
I'm not totally sold on the production design, but I suspect I'll settle into it during the film.
Very excited to Scar Jo here. She feels like an obvious fit for an Anderson film, and it will be exciting to see her operating at this level. She's really great at working with directors with very specific visions for their projects.
I'm curious to see Tom Hanks here. He doesn't strike me as an obvious type for an Anderson film, so I'm curious about how he'll fit in. I'm a bit sad that Hong Chau looks to have a small role though.
Hope Davis looks like she's having a real good time in this.
I'm always a YES for Wes Anderson, even though I'm hit or miss with him. That anything has the potential to come close to Royal Tenenbaums keeps me coming back.
And at this point in cinema, cinematography that is bright and colorful is a huge plus.
Wow! This is a nightmare for photophobic people! Somebody turned the brightness to the highest level!
YES!!
Am I the only one who thinks that Jason Schwartzman looks (more) gorgeous with the beard and that haircut?
can't wait.
Mr. Anderson, after "The Royal Tenembauns" you've been so boring.
Why are you so booooooooooring, Mr. Anderson?
Weirdly, I'm a NO. To me, Anderson's style peaked with Moonrise Kingdom and then it's been frustrating to see him grown on what to me are not his most interesting qualities. I liked his last two films, but they just seemed excessive and kind of shallow. I'm not interested in this one as it seems to keep up that trend.