Product Description

Movie DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3724 in DVD
• Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
• Released on: 1998-12-22
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.com
This quietly daffy comedy should have been an indie hit, but ended up ignored by audiences. Too bad; it's a wonderfully sustained caper movie about friends whose career choice is all wrong. Low-key Anthony (Luke Wilson) and high-strung Dignan (Owen C. Wilson--the two actors are brothers) are brought into a life of crime by Dignan's ambition to be a small-time thief. After a few amusingly laid-back trial burglaries, they (and a third buddy) find themselves over their heads when they hook up with an experienced crime boss (James Caan). Because this movie is so relentlessly deadpan, you really have to be dialed in to its brand of humor--but once there, Bottle Rocket shoots off plenty of sparks. Above all, Owen Wilson's portrayal of Dignan is a terrifically original comic creation; Dignan is so sincerely focused on his goals that he can't see how completely absurd his ideas are. Owen Wilson, who went on to supply similarly knuckle-headed performances in Armageddon and Permanent Midnight, wrote the screenplay with director Wes Anderson. --Robert Horton

From The New Yorker
Wes Anderson's début film, about three argumentative friends who get together for some petty robberies, meanders pleasantly, like a road movie, with a seventies-style, anything-goes offhandedness that whisks the audience through the rough spots. But though a sweet spirit informs its characters' larcenous actions, the movie never really sets off any fireworks. Owen C. Wilson (who co-wrote the script with Anderson) is especially good as the tense, anarchic leader of the trio-his soldierly handsomeness suggests a blond Montgomery Clift. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Quirky, delightful start to two great careers.
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.)

Subtle, Cerebral Humor, A Classic Film From The 1990's!
This movie grabbed my attention the first time I rented it at my local videostore for it's low key atmosphere and entertaining storyline. The highly persistent (if not entirely insane) Dignan, played by Owen Wilson has got to be one of the most memorable character portrayals in any movie I've ever seen. The slow pace of the movie makes everything just right (you won't be blown away by special effects, unless you consider an altogether cerebral script pyrotechnic) but you will come away from this movie with a sense of adventure and a deep desire for one yourself. The fact that this movie is practically a remake of an earlier project adds even more to its appeal. The caper scenes are hilarious, the dialogue will make you think as well as laugh, and you will come away from this movie with a new appreciation for film making in general. It's not all about explosions after all. And you will find yourself scaring the hell out of your friends when for no reason at all you start screaming "Ka-Caw, Ka-Caw!". If you like this movie check out Rushmore, also directed by Wes Anderson.

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. And that formula holds true for "Bottle Rocket," his first collaboration with actor Owen Wilson (who also stars), an absurdist crime caper.

Anthony (Luke Wilson) has just been released from a mental hospital after being treated for exhaustion ("You haven't worked a day in your life. How could you be exhausted?"). He hangs out with his idealistically weird pal Dignan (Owen Wilson), who has mapped out his life over the next 75 years. Dignan, having seen a TV special, has decided to become a master criminal.

First they recruitt the timid Bob (Bob Musgrave) as the getaway driver, as he is the only one who has a car. They practice for a while on smaller-time burglaries, such as robbing a bookstore -- then hiding out at a motel, where Anthony falls in love with the pretty South-American maid (Lumi Cavazos). However, the guys find themselves in hot water when they bump into a REAL crime boss (James Caan).

Wes Anderson's touch is a little rough in his movie debut, but it's that slightly unpolished touch that makes his offbeat style a delight here. For example, Anthony "escapes" from a hospital that he can leave anytime he wants. That unnecessarily complex opener sets the tone of the rest of the movie, of thrillseeking young men who are just a little out of sync with the rest of us.

Don't expect stupid puns, toilet humor and bad sex jokes. "Bottle Rocket" shares the dry, funny, erratic humor of Anderson's later movies. Not to mention a thousand funny little lines ("Bob stole his car!"). Anderson and Wilson avoid being self-consciously cool, in favor of being earnestly quirky. No banter, just wit.

The Wilson brothers are in fine form here, especially when interacting with one another. Anthony is calmer and thinks a lot; Dignan is idealistic and wacky almost to the point of mental illness. They have a certain innocence despite their illegal ambitions, and it's fun just to see them ramble around. They, Inez and Bob are sort of misfits, but not the kind you laugh at.

It's a little erratic, but "Bottle Rocket" comes across as fresh, weird, and extremely well-done. Funny, zany and charming crime comedy with a twist of Wes Anderson.