Bottle Rocket (Widescreen/Full Screen)

 

 

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A rambling, oddball shaggy dog story, but it packs some real emotion and laughs along the way. Terrific understated
performances, and good use of images and music.

I recently watched it a 2nd time and found I wasn't all that into it... until near the end, when it suddenly got me on a
deeper level emotionally than on first viewing. There's something in it about the loss of childhood dreams that resonates
beyond the silly and playful surface.

Low-key, deadpan humor is the name of the game in this quirky comedy that is chock full of Wilson brothers. Owen wrote and starred in the film alongside brother Luke, and yet another Wilson brother plays a small role as their buddy's brother. Bottle Rocket is definitely a quirky little film, and its humor won't appeal to everyone. Inevitably, you'll either enjoy it or wonder why such a nothing story was ever made into a film. By this point, I have to come to terms with the fact that I am actually an Owen Wilson fan; I can't help it - the man's just extremely funny.

The story centers around Anthony (Luke Wilson), who just got out of a voluntary mental hospital, and his one-of-a-kind buddy Dignan (Owen Wilson). Dignan has big plans; in fact, he has the next fifty years charted out. This master plan of his calls for Dignan and Anthony to pull a few burglary jobs and thus impress the local landscaper (I mean, criminal mastermind) Mr. Henry (James Caan) so much that he makes them part of his crew. Dignan obsessively maps out each facet of his plans, treating them as daring capers of great importance, but Anthony and his friend Bob (Robert Musgrave) tend to get distracted rather easily. The first job, a little after-hours bookstore robbery, sort of succeeds despite itself, and the trio goes on the lamb until the supposed heat is off, holing up in a cheap motel out in the middle of nowhere. Here's where things start falling apart, at least insofar as Dignan is concerned. Bob's all worried about his brother having been arrested for the pot that Bob was growing in his own backyard, while Anthony falls in a rather pathetic - but awfully sweet - kind of love with Inez the housekeeper (Lumi Cavazos) - despite her limited knowledge of English. Everyone goes his separate way, basically, but the gang comes back together in order to pull their most ambitious (and, of course, wildly unsuccessful) heist yet. There's not a great deal of story resolution at the end, but that's okay; the film's ambiguity is actually one of its strengths.

Bottle Rocket is a decidedly quirky film, but the characters of Dignan and Anthony really grow on you. Poor Dignan, despite all of his big plans and enthusiasm, is really just a loser going nowhere, while Anthony basically just wants the world to slow down to his low-key pace and to be reunited with Inez. The whole film thrives on a fairly intellectual brand of comedy - no toilet humor, outrageous pratfalls, or low-brow, course jokes to generate cheap laughs. Sure, the movie is sort of stupid, but the comedy certainly isn't. Basically, you either get Bottle Rocket or you don't. That's probably one of the reasons that the film has never managed to generate a giant blip on the radar screens of movie viewers - and that's too bad because Bottle Rocket really is a funny little oddball of a film.

Released in 1996, this is Wes Anderson's first feature movie and the beginning of a great career that has also included the fantastic quirky comedy-dramas "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums." "Bottle Rocket" isn't the equal of those films, but it is a great start to Anderson's career, and a fine little comedy. It also marked the beginning of the stardom of Owen Wilson, who co-wrote the script with Anderson and plays the most noticeable and memorable part. The film was shot in Texas, Anderson and Wilson's home state, based on a short film they had made two years earlier.

The movie has the type of laid-back and character-driven humor that won't appeal to everyone. This is comedy that doesn't target laughs or build up elaborate set-ups as most comedies do. Instead, the humor is continuously slow-pitched to you in the form of weird but likeable characters, off-center attitudes, and situations that seem familiar to us but are played in unreal ways and thus become extremely funny. All together, it's an extraordinarily enjoyable and pleasant movie that strolls through its story with no particular rush.

Owen's brother Luke Wilson, who had so far appeared in every Wes Anderson film, plays Anthony Adams, who gets out of a voluntary mental hospital after recuperating from a breakdown. His friend Dignan (Owen Wilson) has big plans for both of them -- a life of easy and enjoyable crime! Dignan doesn't have any good ideas, but tries to make up for it with endless enthusiasm and an outrageously optimistic view of life. Unfortunately, when things inevitably don't go well for him and his friends start criticizing him, he can fall into pretty bitter depressions. Owen Wilson has the character nailed down, and Dignan sets the tone for most of Wilson's other characters: the enthusiastic but misguided nut. Dignan gets his friend Bob (Robert Musgrave) in on his plan to pull a 'job' (and all of Dignan's 'jobs' are minor-league suburban affairs) that will attract the attention of the local crime boss/landscaper, Mr. Henry (James Caan in a brief but darned funny performance). Dignan get obsessed with his planning and attempts at damage control, while Anthony and Bob are more busy with the really important things in their lives: Anthony falls for a housekeeper at a motel (Lumi Cavazos, from "Like Water for Chocolate"), and Bob tries to deal with his bully of a brother, Future Man (Andrew Wilson -- yep, another Wilson).

The film has some sad and serious moments -- after all, these are characters who are really going NOWHERE in a very boring suburban landscape -- but with Dignan around it never stays down for long. There are plenty of chuckles and some real moments of howling laughter, especially during the climatic 'take down' (and I'm really using that term pretty loosely). Another Wes Anderson favorite actor, Kumar Pallana, who appeared as Pagoda in "The Royal Tenenbaums," is on-hand to add comedy as a safe-cracker (and again, I'm really using that term loosely).

If you like quirky, odd, but realistic comedy, and if you've enjoyed Owen Wilson in many of his later performances, "Bottle Rocket" is really worth a look.

(This DVD is, unfortunately, nothing special. The picture and sound are good, but it hasn't a single extra on it, not even a trailer.)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Don't just watch it once
This movie is greatness. Two rules: Don't watch it alone or only one time.

"I can't concentrate unless the gun is on the table"

Published on May 29 2004 by Josh R.

4.0 out of 5 stars Anderson and Wilson Deserve Humanitarian of the Year Award.
Wes Anderson's and Owen Wilson's Bottle Rocket is the most sympathetic film I have seen since...well, their most recent film, The Royal Tenenbaums. Read more

Published on May 23 2004 by Nobody!

3.0 out of 5 stars a cool look...
At what the Wilson/Anderson writng team were up to before thier Rushmore and Royal Tenenbaums masterpieces. Read more

Published on May 2 2004 by ...

5.0 out of 5 stars Rocket away
Taking a trip into Wes Anderson's head is like going into a parallel universe where most things are the same, but the nature of reality is just slightly warped. Read more

Published on April 1 2004 by E. A Solinas

5.0 out of 5 stars "Does the fact I'm trying to do it for you do it for you?"
I might as well not even try to give 'Bottle Rocket' a fair and balanced review because Owen Wilson is all I can talk about when it comes to this movie. Read more

Published on Mar 12 2004 by A.L.V.

5.0 out of 5 stars A humorous, heart-warming surprise
I had no idea what I was getting in to when I purchased this DVD prior to viewing (as I often do); I was just excited to find another movie with both the talented Wilson brothers... Read more

Published on Feb 29 2004 by mijita24

5.0 out of 5 stars He's out. And you're out, too. And I dont think I'm in
Brilliant, funny, and undescrible. The characters are great, as well as the lines that you will quote, over and over. So many good ones! Read more

Published on Feb 12 2004 by Paul D. Collura

5.0 out of 5 stars doesn't get any more hilarious than this
One of the greatest, funniest movies of all time. For twenty-somethings it may change your life. The review above that claimed that you may not like this if "tommy boy"... Read more

Published on Dec 22 2003 by accumbaldopamine

4.0 out of 5 stars A Review Haiku by Todd Marrone
Quiet, competent
first flick by the Wilson boys,
slightly slow but fresh.

Published on Dec 16 2003 by Todd Marrone

5.0 out of 5 stars How could anyone not love Dignan
Bottle Rocket is just a great film.It showed that Owen and Luke were hilarous.No matter how many times I have seen I still love it.Its just a really great movie.

Published on Dec 14 2003 by candice

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