Dysfunctional friends Dignan and Anthony plan and execute a robbery with their pot-growing friend, Bob. The short film that inspired Wes Anderson’s feature debut.
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Reviews
Great Film overall
Best movie ever!
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Set to a jazz soundtrack, this short film set the stage for the feature film of the same name. Several scenes look almost identical to scenes from the feature, including the robbery of Anthony's mother's house, the firearm purchase and the planning of the bookstore robbery. There seems to be a bit more cursing present in the short than in the feature, and it makes for a few laughs. The dialogue contains the usual wit expected from Wilson and Anderson, and the black and white photography looks nice. The bookstore robbery isn't shown, but explained after the fact to Bob by Anthony and Dignan; this is a drawback, it isn't as amusing as actually watching it happen. The film ends on a funny note with Anthony and Dignan betting on which one of them would win in a foot race.
This is the FIRST Bottle Rocket, not the full length. This version begins after the breakout in th '96 version, and ends after the boys RECAP the bookstore robbery to Bob. This is interesting to watch for hardcore Wes fans, and if Criterion loves us, they will release a DVD including this original on it. Especially worth seeing is the "I bought the gun" scene, where Dignan flips out in a vulgar rage which only Owen Wilson could have executed the way he did.The Bottle Rocket '96 trailer includes a shot of Anthony breaking into a car to steal a wallet, but the scene is cut from the actual movie. That scene is present in the short version.
This is the type of film that should be popular among film goers. Yet, none of my friends have ever seen or heard of Bottle Rocket. The dialogue is very well written and the characters are amazingly funny. I am glad that the commercialization of the film industry and American society as a whole has left room for films like Bottle Rocket. It is not exactly film art; but, damn close.
This is a witty movie, certainly cute, clever, and appealing, if somewhat slow. The number of votes that it has (or hasn't) attracted has allowed some serious skewing of the rating scores. Maybe it was because the cast are the only ones voting? Nevertheless, a fairly amusing tale and well crafted for the backyard effort that it was. But not for everyone - my wife gave up on it. My vote 7/10