Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Bottle Rocket (1996)

IMDb plot summary: Three friends plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run.
Directed by Wes Anderson. Starring Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Ned Dowd, and Shea Fowler.

This film has a lot of the hallmarks of classic Wes Anderson material, such as a vivid color palette and understated conversation styles, and the Wilson brothers are a good fit for his style right off the bat. But it is lacking both the overt humor and the clearer themes of his later work. I suppose if pressed I would guess this is a film about friendship, but the friendship between the two leads is frequently manipulative and controlling, so it's hard to tell if the film is intending to say anything about it. It feels more like just a chance to let the Wilsons goof around and play off each other, and while that doesn't wow me or make me laugh out loud, it's a pleasant enough way to spend an afternoon.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Bottle Rocket > To Be or Not to Be (1942)
Bottle Rocket < The Black Cat
Bottle Rocket < Harakiri
Bottle Rocket < Holiday Inn
Bottle Rocket < 21
Bottle Rocket > Vampyr
Bottle Rocket > Julie & Julia
Bottle Rocket < Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
Bottle Rocket < The Call
Bottle Rocket < The Girl on a Motorcycle
Bottle Rocket > The Invention of Lying
Bottle Rocket < VeggieTales: Madame Blueberry
Final spot: #1579 out of 3318, or 52%.

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