Movie Review: Bottle Rocket
I have made no secret of my love of Wes Anderson movies on this blog. Yet it was only very recently that I finally got the chance to see where it all began. 1996’s Bottle Rocket is not a great film. Telling the story of a bumbling group of bored suburban would-be crooks, it is ostensibly a comedy but not especially funny. It served as the big screen debut of the Wilson brothers Owen and Luke. Both are pretty good, especially Owen who plays Dignan and here demonstrates his natural charm — that sort of calculated earnestness in his affect he does so well in better movies.
Luke plays the film’s true protagonist, Anthony, a lost young man coming out of a mental hospital due to “exhaustion” supposedly and allowing himself to be swept up in Dignan’s cockamamie schemes. None of the characters are particularly likable or especially well-written. Anthony at least finds some redemption in a sweet love affair he has with a hispanic hotel maid named Inez. She is one of the film’s bright spots.
I think the only people I would recommend this movie to are Wes Anderson fans. He was 26 when he did this film and even here you see the seeds of future greatness. The subtle offbeat humor works in spurts. His use of music is effective. The way he frames and punctuates scenes like a play is well-executed here. Perhaps the best thing about the movie is its style. Even if the story itself is forgettable, the way it is told will stay with you. It’s no wonder Anderson went on to get another shot with Rushmore even though Bottle Rocket was a commercial flop. It’s wonderful he did as Rushmore remains a classic among a catalog of other great Anderson films.
Bottle Rocket for its time is still an inspired little flick worth seeing if you’re an Anderson enthusiast. I would not recommend it to people who have never seen any of his stuff. Literally every other one of his films is considerably better.
Grade: B-
