Good concept, poorly executed.

Don't Believe the Hype

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

If you've come of age in the 21st century, then you know Wes Anderson as one of the most important indie directors. His oeuvre (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel) features quirky characters, scenes with centered action, and generally unusual plots. And he tends to cast Bill Murray in supporting roles.His debut, 1996's "Bottle Rocket", is a little different. Bill Murray is absent. There are a few scenes with centered action, but the emphasis is certainly on the characters and plot. Owen and Luke Wilson play friends who plan a series of heists. I found the best part of the movie to be the whole sequence in the motel; the heists themselves came across as secondary to the events in the motel.So, while it doesn't give that much of a hint of Anderson's later movies, "Bottle Rocket" is still an enjoyable one. James Caan's character struck me as an allusion to his most famous one. And Kumar Pallana accomplished something practically unheard of: he debuted in cinema when he was pushing eighty."Tell him I love him." Ha!

Bottle Rocket from 1996 stars the Wilson brothers - Owen, Luke, and Andrew, with a script co-written by Owen and Wes Anderson. The film also stars James Caan.The story concerns a group of friends at loose ends who embark on a life of crime at the instigation of Dignan (Owen). Anthony (Luke) has just escaped from a voluntary mental hospital -- he could have walked out, but instead he slid to the ground on a sheet. Dignan (Owen) is the ringleader with a series of instructional notebooks; Bob (Robert Musgrave) has a car so he's the lookout and driver.They knock over a few stores and wind up at a motel where Anthony falls for a maid and feels it's been a life-changing experience. Then Bob's brother is arrested as a drug dealer, so he takes off in his car to help him, leaving the other two stranded. And so it goes.Very funny - Wes Anderson is great at this type of offbeat comedy. The comedy comes out of the characterizations rather than the lines. The best is toward the end when Owen takes charge of a big caper. Enjoy this.

This is definitely seen as one of Anderson's lesser films, seeing as how it's definitely a lot less "Anderson-like" in its approach and style. Still, it's pretty good and pretty entertaining. The actors do a nice job, especially Luke Wilson. While Owen has always been more talented when it comes to comedy, Luke really knows how to make the most out of his dramatic talent and he's able to nail dramatic ticks and notes in his character that I don't think I've seen him do since (not in film, but certainly in Enlightened). Overall, this isn't such a big deal and it maybe didn't show the kind of stuff Anderson would go on to do, but it's definitely good.

OK. I was recommended to watch this film because I had a conversation about Wes Anderson with someone. I didn't know about his first film, Bottle Rocket, and my friend said she liked it because it was so laid back and appealed to her in some way.While I think it is a good first attempt for a film, and a good start for Wes Anderson. Although, I have to say that I got a good amount of the Wilson Brothers from the entire film, I thought it was admirable.It had it's moments and was shot decently well. There are a lot of problems with it. Motive for the story, the 2 dimensional characters with some important character traits, and a script that doesn't really work in the sense that it would serve to the story. This is long before Wes is making self aware quirky movies that pan to a certain type of trope or theme and it falls flat to deliver a solid movie with a plot that would make sense. It is incredibly well shot in a simple way and doesn't hit you over the head with anything, the performances feel a little forced, but it still all feels genuine enough to be believable.Once again, being that this is his first film, you can overlook a lot of the material and give him a pat on his back for what he was trying to accomplish. And he kind of hit it out of the park and began developing a style that some people would get under and truly respect. Anyway, that's my lightweight review of the movie. I don't want to bring up specific details of the film that bothered me or that I liked, but I would definitely give this a watch if you are interested enough in Wes Anderson as a director.