Anderson Countdown Part 7 - Moonrise Kingdom

Hello everyone and welcome to Some Like It Scott's newest Countdown miniseries: the Wes Anderson Countdown. To honor one of the great still-working indie writer-director auteurs, who's next film ASTEROID CITY comes out later this year, Scott, Scott, and Jay will be watching all 10 of the American filmmakers' works to-date, from his origins with the '90s heist-comedy BOTTLE ROCKET, all the way to his latest feature, 2021's star-studded anthology drama THE FRENCH DISPATCH. Join us each week over the next 10 weeks as we progress through Anderson's full oeuvre in the buildup to ASTEROID CITY!

 

On part 7 of the Anderson Countdown, Scott, Scott, and Jay revisit MOONRISE KINGDOM, Wes Anderson’s return to the coming-of-age comedy-drama. Directed by Anderson and co-written with Wes regular, Roman Coppola, MOONRISE KINGDOM tells the story of two disaffected, pre-teen, star-crossed lovers on the small New England island called New Penzance. Sam Shakusky (Jared Gilman) is a much-disliked orphaned Khaki Scout at Camp Ivanhoe, under the command of Scout Master Randy Ward (Ed Norton), but when he absconds from Camp to meet up with his romantically inclined pen pal, Suzy Bishop (Kara Hayward), who herself feels depressed and deeply disconnected from her parents and three younger brothers, a great search begins involving Scout Master Ward's entire trooper, Suzy's family, and the island's local sheriff, Captain Duffy Sharp (Bruce Willis). Sam and Suzy rendezvous in the wilderness, hike, camp, and fish, all with the goal of reach a specific, yet-to-be-revealed location, but with their families and fellow Khaki Scouts hot on their trial, the rest of the film explores the sensibilities of young love, strained parenting, and tenuous mental health, all with a tenderness that hasn't always been as prominent in Anderson's filmography. The countdown crew reflects on what this film says about Anderson's evolving tenderness, his renewed knack for exposing unfound talent, and discuss at length whether this might be Bruce Willis's last great performance.