The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

Movie review by Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 17+

Another quirkfest from Wes Anderson; not for kids.

R 2004 119 minutes
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Parents say

age 14+

Based on 5 reviews

Kids say

age 11+

Based on 14 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou includes very strong language, non-sexual nudity (topless sunbathing), and non-explicit sexual references and situations, including pregnancy from an adulterous affair and bisexuality. Characters drink, smoke, and smoke marijuana. Characters behave badly in many ways, from being cruel to each other to stealing. Characters are in peril and there are violent encounters with deadly animals and various weapons, including guns. Some characters are killed.

Community Reviews

PlugIt_In
PlugIt_In Adult
August 26, 2018
age 13+

Not as good as his other films, but still great.

I enjoyed this movie well enough, although the David Bowie covers were horrendous. There is some sexual content, as in Bare breasts seen once and a man saying he is part gay. An intense hijacking scene that is quite bloody. A man is shot in the shoulder; blood sprays. A man is eaten by a shark, blood is seen everywhere. A man is seen lying in a puddle of blood. 30-40 uses of f--k, or something like that. About 20 uses of s--t. Good film!

This title has:

Too much swearing
jmo97
jmo97 Adult
April 19, 2017
age 16+

Entertaining film from Wes Anderson

While it does take a while to get used to Anderson's humor and directing style, I think that in the end, the story has enough fun in it to appeal to different viewers (and especially for those who already are fans of his work). There is good dialogue, amusing action scenes, and some odd stop-motion visuals. Concerning what to look out for, there is quite a bit of foul language (such as f- and s-words), and the action scenes do have some blood (some of the violence includes shootings. Funny enough, I don't remember seeing any drug use in the film, other than people smoking cigarettes. However, there are a couple of scenes with a topless woman (she's seen like that for a few seconds in at least two scenes). Older teens and adults should have a good time with this movie, and keep kids away until they're older. 6.8/10

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU is the story of Jacques Cousteau-like explorer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray), who finances his expeditions by filming them. He has not had a successful movie in nine years. His wife (Anjelica Huston) strides around chain-smoking and making bitter comments. She maintains a flirty relationship with her bisexual ex-husband, Alistair Hennessey (Jeff Goldblum), who happens to be Zissou's rival. Zissou's new mission is not about science; it is about revenge. He wants to kill the "jaguar shark" that killed his friend. His motley crew includes the high strung Klaus Daimler (Willem Dafoe) and some newcomers: Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson), a naval officer who could be Zissou's son, Bill Ubell (Bud Cort), assigned to watch over them by the bond company, and Jane Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett), an intrepid English journalist who is pregnant. Steve and Ned go off in their run-down ship and end up engaging with pirates, stealing equipment from Hennessey, and developing a romantic rivalry for Jane.

Is It Any Good?

Another quirkfest from Wes Anderson, this is filled with imaginatively charming images and Anderson's trademark oddball characters from a mix of cultures. They all speaking in his signature corkscrew speech and react as though no two of them speak the same language. Anderson is great with situations, visuals, and deadpan delivery of weird, almost absurd, dialogue. But increasingly, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou all seems to be tricks without any meaning or insight behind them, cleverness for the sake of cleverness, without any heart or soul. Or art. College students can deconstruct to their hearts' delight, but it's their own meaning they will bring to the movie, not Anderson's.

Anderson benefits tremendously from the always-engaging production design by Mark Friedberg, a delightful score by former Devo-ian Mark Mothersbaugh, and the always-engaging performances by top-notch actors clearly enjoying themselves, especially Goldblum, Dafoe, and Blanchett. The script, by Anderson and Noah Baumbach takes some bad turns in the last half hour that feel sour and unsatisfying. Anderson is getting close to Emperor's New Clothes-time here, and eventually someone is going to point out that when it comes to the substance, he has nothing on.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why Steve seemed more attached to his friend who was killed than to anyone else in his family or crew in The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. What mattered to him? What mattered to Ned and Jane? What did it add to her character to have her pregnant?

Movie Details

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