Overall Rating
  Awesome: 63.49%
Worth A Look: 28.57%
Average: 6.35%
Pretty Bad: 1.59%
Total Crap: 0%
3 reviews, 45 user ratings
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| Bottle Rocket |
by Dennis Swennumson
"And you're out, too. And I dont think I'm in, either. No gang!"
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“Bottle Rocket”, Wes Anderson’s first movie, definitely has its flaws. It starts out well, loses its pacing through the middle and pulls through in the end. It stars both Luke and Owen Wilson in their debut roles, as two best friends trying to establish themselves as professional criminals. It’s interesting to see the beginnings of Anderson’s offbeat comedic style in this film, the deadest of dead-pan that really took shape and became more distinguishable with his next two films, “Rushmore” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.” It’s unfortunate that “Bottle Rocket” didn’t achieve the cult status that it’s worthy of, it’s a movie with mainstream-alienating qualities that fans of oddball cinema would love; it just never found enough of a following. Looking at the film eight years later, it’s a film that shows the promise of an immensely talented filmmaker.The film opens with Anthony Adams (Luke Wilson) attempting an escape at an asylum. He has the sheets knotted together and hanging out of the window, his buddy Dignan signaling that it’s all clear. Dignan (Owen Wilson) has detailed the escape, not realizing that the clinic is minimum security and that people can pretty much leave when they want. The next scene shows the first glimpse of Anderson’s humor, Dignan shows Anthony a notebook with a 75-year plan of their new life as criminals. Without any real direction, Anthony figures he’ll take the shot.
The duo enlists the help of Bob (Robert Musgrave) as their wheelman, a position he gets because he’s the only of the guys with his own car. They plan a series of “practice” heists and robberies. This includes a few house break-ins, where afterwards they give each other their compliments and constructive criticisms. The payoff comes when we find out why they left certain valuables behind. Another hilariously bland heist comes when they knock over a bookstore and Anthony and Dignan prove themselves to be the two least intimidating robbers in the country. Eventually they become involved with Dignan’s criminal idol Mr. Henry, played by James Caan, and find themselves involved in a heist that they aren’t qualified for.
Some of the funniest moments in the movie come with simple exchanges between the characters. Though his fragility is likable, Anthony takes the third degree from his little sister on a school playground. He explains to her that he was sent away for exhaustion, “You’ve never worked a day in your life, how could you be exhausted,” she responds. The fact that the only authority figure in his life is in the fourth grade is funny, and truly pathetic. The script’s best lines are reserved for Dignan, and for an actor who can sometimes be incredibly unlikable, Owen Wilson proves himself to be a talented comedic actor. His best scene comes when the last heist begins to unravel, his panic and outlandish ideas beginning to blend together.
A hopeless romance is one of the trademark plot elements found in Anderson’s films. There was the attraction that both Max Fischer and Herman Blume held for Miss Cross in “Rushmore” and the devotion of Richie Tenenbaum to his adopted sister Margot in 2001’s “The Royal Tenenbaums.” In both films these relationships were filled with sadness, Max unable to comprehend the many problems a large age difference posed and causing a divorce for Herman. The relationship between Richie and Margot was a lot more serious, it included a suicide attempt. But the relationships always seem to work out one way or another in both films, the conditions may not be completely ideal but they are clearly better off. In “Bottle Rocket” Anthony falls in love with a motel room maid named Inez (Lumi Cavazos) who works at the motel the crew is hiding out in while things blow over. Their end result is probably the most typical and optimistic portrayal of love we’ll ever see in one of Wes Anderson’s films.
For most, it’s the relationship between Inez and Anthony that drags “Bottle Rocket” into the mud. It’s the middle of the movie and the audience wants to see more of what has come before, funny incidents of botched heists. The claims that this entire segment drags the movie and proves that it would have worked better as a short are legitimate. But in hindsight it’s just Anderson and Wilson honing their narrative skills.Kevin Smith’s “Clerks”, Robert Rodriguez’s “El Mariachi,” Richard Linklater’s “Slacker” and of course Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” were all landmark 90’s movies, and they all set high standards for each director’s second film. To a lesser extent, “Bottle Rocket” goes into that same category, it was another product of Sundance that went under the radar, but it showed great potential. Potential that Wes Anderson has more than fulfilled and hopefully continues with his upcoming “The Life Aquatic.”
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link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=519&reviewer=338
originally posted: 07/23/04 11:26:28
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USA
21-Feb-1996 (R)
UK
N/A
Australia
02-Feb-1997 (MA)
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