The Royal Tenenbaums · written by Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson · 2001

Richie demonstrates the continental grip to the children, then returns Uzi’s serve down the line past Uzi.

Scene 140 of 143 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act three

Richie
Narrator

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Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 1:56 into a 1:59 film

The story so farBefore scene 140

After losing his hotel room, Royal claims he has only weeks to live so he can move back in with his estranged family; as the truth unravels, he must find a way to be useful and earn a place in their lives.

Scenes 1–39
Royal is absent from the children’s adult lives, and their family remains shaped by his betrayals and abandonment.
Scenes 40–47
Royal wants a path back to Etheline and the children, and claims impending death will give him one.
Scenes 48–50
He returns to the house and openly asks his children for a chance to make things right.
Scenes 51–90
Royal tries to reconnect through schemes, misjudgments and genuine care, learning that affection alone cannot erase old injuries.
Scenes 91–92
Royal admits to Etheline that he hoped to win her back and remove Henry, revealing the motive behind his return.
Scenes 92–110
Royal loses the household and faces separation again; Richie’s suicide attempt exposes the family’s deeper pain.
Scenes 111–133
Royal returns to a useful place in the family by listening to Richie and protecting Ari and Uzi during the wedding-day crash.
Just before
Scene 137
Royal watches a performance of Margot’s new play, which receives mixed reviews and closes within two weeks.
Scene 138
Raleigh and Dudley tour universities to promote their book about Dudley’s condition.
Scene 139
Eli checks into a North Dakota rehabilitation hospital and introduces his sponsor.
Scene 140
This scene

140INT. 375TH STREET Y ROOFTOP. DAY.

A concrete tennis court with a chain-link net. Ari, Uzi and a group of children dressed in tennis clothes watch as Richie demonstrates the continental style of grip to them. Richie has a white gauze patch taped over his eye.

RICHIE

Rod Laver used it. You know who Laver

is?

Uzi steps up to the service line. He bounces a ball and gets ready to serve.

NARRATOR (V.O.)

Richie started a programme teaching

competitive tennis to eight- to twelve-

year-olds at the 375th Street Y.

Uzi hits a fast serve to Richie’s forehand. Richie fires his return full-speed straight down the line. Uzi watches it race past him.