Reviews of Bottle Rocket
Displaying all 4 reviews
lolo341
26Nov11
The charming moments of Bottle Rocket make the film likable, but the lulls between those moments keep it from being lovable. For a debut it has some strong performances and a glimmer of the writing that came later from Wes Anderson & company; think of it as a practice run. Owen Wilson’s choice of roles since then hasn’t been overly impressive, but he shines in this one, as does Luke for that matter. As a minor aside that wouldn’t have been an issue when it was first released and the duo was unknown, I had a hard time shaking my knowledge that the two leads are, in fact, brothers. They have a strong resemblance that forced me to keep reminding myself that in the movie, they’re just friends, and that’s part of the minor flaw with the movie: the characters are such an unlikely pairing, that I wanted a little back story on how they became friends or why Anthony (Luke) shows so much loyalty towards Dignan (Owen). While it isn’t straight up pants-wetting comedy, blazingly dark humor, or radically quirky satire, it is a little of all those things. If you don’t expect too much of it, you may be pleasantly surprised.
- Currently 3.0/5 Stars.
Sudarshan R.
29Aug09
This is one of the great first films and although he’s made more good movies afterwards, this is Wes Anderson’s best film. Shot on location in Texas, it shows a regionalism missing in most American films. The use of colour and sound is powerful and the performances by the two Wilson brothers Luke and especially Owen is stunning.
The film deals with a gang of thieves by way of Godard’s BAND OF OUTSIDERS, the details of the heist and planning are not as important as the interactions of these post-adolescent layabout kids lost in the world. Above all there are the characters, stylized and cartoonish they may be, who we come to love and understand and embrace by the end.
Beneezy
27May09
(Wednesday, May 27, 2009 9:20pm)
I have to say that “Bottle Rocket” is one of my favortie films of the 90’s. I have seen this movie plenty of times and i have to say that I loved it ever since the first time I saw it. Give Wes Anderson kudos for making this film appreciated by many.The Wilson brothers’ career got expanded on and on after this messy kind of masterpiece from Anderson. This is a must have for anyone who loves a very direct comedy. The humor is in the entirety of the film and it’s a very solid tight picture for a screw-ball comedy. A fantastic piece of art from Wes Anderson. Awesome movie!! 8.5/10.
- Currently 5.0/5 Stars.
asuraf
23Feb09
Wes Anderson’s first film has all the makings of the great films to come – the idiosyncratic storytelling, the emphasis on friendship, the perfectly placed pop songs on the soundtrack – with an ironic sweetness and naiveté emblematic of 27-year-old kids coming of age in a spotty independent film market. Co-written with college friend Owen Wilson, who stars with brother Luke and friend Robert Musgrave as a trio of inept slackers trying to find their place in the scheme of things with small time robberies and grander designs, the film is less about the makings the criminal element than about the choices we make as young adults that don’t always go as plans, despite the best laid storyboards. Luke is the film’s center, coming out of a stay in a mental health hospital to help his friend Dignan (Owen) with a heist, finding happiness in love with a Portuguese maid (Lumi Cavazos), trying to earn redemption for past nothingness, but Owen and his impossibly ambitious plans for amateur criminal stardom steals the show, and Anderson knows it, giving Dignan the film’s bittersweet final fade-out. Criterion’s 2-disc Special Edition has almost everything you need to know about how the eventual cult film was made, from 13-minute short that found fame at Sundance, to a year and a half of rewrites, and almost certain death at the hands of poor test screenings and lackluster box office; luckily for us that wasn’t the case, and Anderson and the Wilson brothers would soon go on to “Rushmore” and “The Royal Tenenbaums”.
- Currently 4.0/5 Stars.