Weirdest coming of age film I've seen.

Rating: 7/10 (19 April 2016)

I'm not quite sure what aspect of family life this was critiquing, but it was definitely trying to make a point about something. Maybe Anderson is saying that kids grow up independent of their parents, or that the behavior exhibited in this movie is a direct result of bad parenting/absent parents. He didn't seem to be praising Sam and Suzy's behavior since many of their scenes together evoked a sense of awkward discomfort. However, he doesn't mind making a fool out of the adults in the film. They mostly just bumble around trying to figure out what to do about their lacking control over the kids. Thankfully, this isn't done like in kids' comedies are where the kids all have unrealistically intelligent and sarcastic dialogue and the adults are portrayed as total idiots.
Wes Anderson's humor, as many already know, is not gut-wrenching or over the top. If you enjoy it, you'll probably end up smiling more than laughing, because there really aren't many jokes. Instead, he uses geometric shooting techniques, hesitantly paced music, and awkward pauses to create a constantly amusing atmosphere. Also, if you enjoy finding little quirky extras that linger in the background, there's a lot of that sort of thing. There are a few good lines, mostly from Bruce Willis and Ed Norton, that have a sort of ironic tone to them. As the story progresses more, there is gradually more blatant humor, but it still isn't the sort where the whole group your watching with will laugh all together. Throughout there is an undertone of absurdity, but it's subtle most of the time. So if you enjoy absurdity such as the Hitchhiker's books, you're encountering a whole different genre here.
The story is not hard to follow at all, but it may be a little difficult to remember all the characters and their names. You will know where you've seen each character before and what their significance is, but the names will not stick enough for them to be more than "Suzy's mom" or "Bruce Willis' character". The whole story pretty much stems from what would seem to be an overreaction. Not that two children running away isn't something to be concerned and alarmed about, but the entire island is pretty much in on the search. Then everything just snowballs when people start taking sides on the issue of Sam's and Suzy's fates. For some, it might move a little slow, and I can't promise that you'll be satisfied by the ending. So any bored urge to turn it off might be worth listening to.
The acting is pretty good, even from the kids. Despite the unrealistic circumstances, the performances are delivered with realism and each actor's traits are indistinguishable from their character's. The script was pretty good, outside of the one expositional dude at the beginning. He doesn't contribute any really valuable information outside of the impending hurricane and the off screen intro of Jed the mailman. Everything he said, including the time and place, could have been omitted and left for the audience to infer or could have been explained in a much more effective way.
I was sort of entertained by it, and I can see how people would enjoy it. I find Wes Anderson's style somewhat appealing, though I liked Grand Budapest Hotel much better. It will get you thinking a bit, though not maybe on the most pleasant train of thought. If you are considering showing it as a family flick, I would kind of advise against it for anyone under fourteen. Yes it's only PG-13 and deservedly so, but it might give your kids some scary ideas. If you're bored after the manhunt is well underway, it probably won't get any better for you after that. Overall Rating: 7.1/10.