[chadd]

This is because the older films were co-written with Owen Wilson. Once they stopped collaborating, Anderson's later films are unbalanced - they have the whimsical aesthetic, but are too sweet without the bitter piercing wit and clarity of Wilson's writing to make them less cloying (IMHO).

[echelon]

I miss Owen Wilson.

He was going through some major depression and understandably pulled back from the industry. But he brought something very personable and authentic to comedy, and his absence has been palpable.

Many other comedians of the era were too slapstick and over the top for me. I still can't watch a Will Ferrell comedy with any interest.

[NikolaNovak]

Owen Wilson has been a fascinating character with a unique yet consistent approach.

Ferrell... Massive comedic turn off for me. He seems like the guy that jumps into a room, interrupts and yells out a joke out of context, then keeps repeating it louder and louder until some polite fake laughter occurs. I feel bad about being this negative about a fellow human being, but his comedic approach sets off a Bully vibe / response in me in anything I've seen him in except Stranger Than Fiction.

[btown]

I never realized Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson were college roommates, and how much they'd collaborated together! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Wilson