Leading up to President Barack Obama's final The State of the Union address CNN released a video reimagining the SOTU as a Wes Anderson film. For those not familiar with Wes Anderson, the director has a signature style which CNN pays homage to here. Borrowing heavily from Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums—a family less dysfunctional than our own government—the delightful video introduces viewers to its star Barack Obama as "The President," and other key players including Vice President Joe Biden as "Uncle Joe," and the opposition—the Republicans.
The video, equally entertaining as it is informational explaining just what the State of the Union address is checks off these must-haves for a Wes Anderson film. Overhead shot of hands? Check. Symmetry? Check. Someone walking in slow-mo to Nico's "These Days"? Check (That one's pulled straight from The Royal Tenenbaums.) Here's how CNN described the video, "With all the tradition, pomp and quirks, the State of the Union Address is straight out of a Wes Anderson movie." Stand out moment for me was the narrator (another Anderson staple) discussing reactions to the POTUS giving his address saying, "Democrats stand and cheer, Republicans sit and don't” with a zoom-in to current presidential hopeful Marco Rubio. If you stick around to the end you'll catch other presidential hopefuls.
Check out the video above.
