The early promise of Tenenbaum child prodigies Chas (Ben Stiller), Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Richie (Luke Wilson) is short-circuited by the flaws of their father, family patriarch Royal (Gene Hackman), in Wes Anderson's New York fairy tale about a dysfunctional clan of eccentrics. Despite Etheline's (Anjelica Huston) maternal influence, the Tenenbaums -- now grown -- display mere vestiges of their former potential.