Wes Anderson has never made a film quite like Asteroid City — which is saying something for a director who built a career on meticulous, deeply personal oddities. Released in 2023, this sci-fi comedy is equal parts stunning and stubbornly difficult, a matryoshka doll of storytelling layers that dares you to keep up. It is absolutely an Anderson film, and that is both its greatest strength and its biggest barrier to entry. Whether it earns your patience depends entirely on how much you love the art of cinema itself.
What Is Asteroid City About?
Set in a fictional 1955 American desert town, Asteroid City centers on a Junior Stargazer convention that gets thrown into chaos when a UFO lands and scoops up the meteorite at the center of the crater that gave the town its name. The federal government immediately quarantines everyone on site — widower Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman), his four children, actress Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson), and a colorful cast of scientists, military figures, and fellow families — and nobody is going anywhere until the situation is resolved.
But here is the twist: all of this is happening inside a 1950s television program, which is itself being profiled by a PBS-style documentary narrated by Bryan Cranston. So you are watching a documentary about a TV show that dramatizes an unproduced play. Anderson does not hide this layering — he leans into it fully, cutting between the washed-out pastel desert and a stark black-and-white behind-the-scenes frame narrative that explores how and why the story came to exist at all.
What Works: Visual Mastery, Performances, and Quiet Grief
Visually, Asteroid City is one of Anderson’s most breathtaking achievements. The desert Americana palette — bleached yellows, dusty turquoise, retro motel signage — is impeccably rendered, and cinematographer Robert Yeoman shoots every single frame as if it belongs in a museum. If you paused this film at any random moment, you would have a composition worth framing.
The ensemble cast is doing exceptional work inside Anderson’s signature deadpan register. Jason Schwartzman is the emotional anchor, playing grief in a restrained, almost robotic way that somehow lands harder than any dramatic outburst could. Scarlett Johansson brings surprising warmth to a character that could have been purely ornamental. And Jeff Goldblum, playing an otherworldly visitor in one of the film’s most talked-about moments, is characteristically Goldblum — which is to say, perfectly cast.
The humor is dry and precise. Anderson’s comedy has always operated like a perfectly timed clock — every joke lands exactly where it is supposed to, with minimal telegraphing. There are moments of genuine wit here that reward rewatching: background details, throwaway lines, visual gags tucked into corners of the frame. Tom Hanks appears in the frame-narrative segments and adds gravitas to what might otherwise feel like a self-indulgent experiment.
Thematically, the film is more ambitious than it first appears. Underneath all the meta-theatrical architecture is a meditation on grief, creative impotence, and the human need to tell stories even when — especially when — we do not fully understand what they mean. Schwartzman’s Augie cannot process his wife’s recent death, and the film’s layered structure mirrors that emotional paralysis: story wrapping story, meaning buried under meaning.
What Doesn’t Work: Pacing and the Accessibility Wall
Here’s the honest part: Asteroid City is slow. Deliberately, almost defiantly slow. Anderson uses stillness as a tool, but even committed fans may find themselves checking the runtime as the mid-section stretches on. The quarantine premise — which should generate tension — instead creates a kind of pleasant stasis that the film never fully breaks out of.
The meta-structure, while intellectually interesting, can feel like a hedge. By framing the story inside a documentary about a TV show, Anderson creates distance that prevents full emotional investment. Just when a scene starts to breathe and feel real, the film cuts away to remind you it is all a construction. For some viewers, this is the point. For others, it is exhausting.
Non-Anderson fans will likely find this impenetrable. Unlike The Grand Budapest Hotel — which works as a thriller even if you have never heard of Wes Anderson — Asteroid City demands familiarity with and affection for his sensibility. It is a film about filmmaking, for people who love thinking about filmmaking. That is a narrow target.
Who Should Watch Asteroid City?
If you have seen and loved The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, or Isle of Dogs, this is required viewing — it is Anderson operating at full creative confidence with a budget and cast that match his ambition. It will reward multiple watches.
If you enjoy films that play with narrative structure and are comfortable with movies that prioritize mood over momentum, Asteroid City is a genuinely singular experience. It sits comfortably in the company of other cult classic films that divide audiences on first viewing but develop devoted followings over time.
If you are looking for something breezy and feel-good, this is not it — check out our picks for the best feel-good movies instead.
Final Verdict
Asteroid City is the kind of film that lives in your head after you watch it, even if it frustrated you while it was happening. It is gorgeous, occasionally funny, emotionally elusive, and completely uninterested in meeting you halfway. That is a feature, not a bug — but it means this film earns its 7 out of 10 by being extraordinary for a specific kind of viewer, and genuinely alienating for everyone else.
Rating: 7/10 — A visually staggering, intellectually rich experiment that demands patience and rewards it in equal measure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Asteroid City worth watching?
Yes — if you enjoy Wes Anderson’s work or films that prioritize visual artistry and meta-narrative structure over conventional storytelling. It is not a film for everyone, but for the right viewer it is a genuinely unforgettable experience.
What is Asteroid City about?
Asteroid City (2023) follows a group of parents and children stranded in a tiny desert town after a UFO interrupts their Junior Stargazer convention. The story is framed as a 1950s TV drama being discussed in a documentary, creating a layered, meta-theatrical narrative about grief, creativity, and human connection.
Where can I stream Asteroid City?
Asteroid City is available to rent or purchase on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Vudu, and other major digital platforms. Availability on subscription streaming services may vary by region — check JustWatch for the most current options in your country.
