WubsTheFadger Short and Simple Review by WubsTheFadgerWes Anderson's first feature film shows us this directors future potential. Bottle Rockets is not his best film but it has some good moments. Throughout the film, there are very funny scenes and some good dialogue. I just thought that the film was missing Anderson's classic quirkiness and weirdness.The acting is very good. Owen and Luke Wilson work great together and both are very funny. Robert Musgrave, Ned Dowd, Andrew Wilson, and Jenni Tooley all perform well.The pacing, for me, was a little slow and the runtime was overlong. This film was better as a short rather than a full feature.Pros: Some funny moments in the story, Owen and Luke Wilson's performance, and good overall actingCons: Slow pacing, an overlong runtime, and the film was missing Anderson's weirdnessOverall Rating: 6.5

braddugg What it is on the face value is a crime comedy film but what it actually is, is more fun.Three friends want to do something big and quick even if it's illegal. They set out a plan execute it to failure, OK, if it's once that would have been fine but what if it fails the second time too. Is this a movie then, movies are not supposed to fail aren't they? Heroes should prosper and even if caught, they must escape and prove their innocence. This film has a different perspective than the above mentioned clichéd trivial thinking.It has got all the ingredients of a good fun film. There is a love story, a friendship, envy and even deceit. It's the flow of the story that makes it a good film and a cut above the rest. The performances are strong and believable, the editing is precise and the cinematography is good. Keeping in mind the meager budget, this is surely a well made film with good production quality. The winner although is the story and the writing. This is the first Wes Anderson film and as a debut, he had done a fabulous job. A 3/5 for a film that is definitely good.

Joshua B Futureman is an angry older brother. Why does he harbor so much hate against Bob? Because he's the only one with a car. What the eff is this? It's a review. Bob has nothing to prove. He's willing to be a getaway driver, but don't ask him to cut his hair. Or Anthony. On the run from Johnny Law ain't no trip to Cleveland. The bandages on their noses during the robbery are the perfect distraction. Bring a bigger bag next time. This was just a practice. A warm up for the big league with Mr. Henry, a karate black belt trained by grand master Rowboat. Don't mess with them or you'll get water dumped on your head. Or worse—they will steal all your stuff while you're off with the Lawn Wranglers trying to rob a meat plant.

estebangonzalez10 "I learned more in the 2 months I spent with Mr. Henry and this crew than I learned in 15 years of academic study."Bottle Rocket was not only the feature film debut for director Wes Anderson, but it was also the debut for Owen and Luke Wilson who both gave inspiring performances. This is where it all started for Wes Anderson and despite not being a box office hit he slowly built a reputation for himself by remaining unique to his quirky sense of humor. Many criticized the fact that these characters didn't seem real, and that is probably true for all of Anderson's film where he focuses on dysfunctional characters with a whimsical sense of humor. Anderson's comedies are very different and they aren't for mainstream audiences, thus the reason why the screening of this film scored the worst test screening points in the history of Columbia Pictures during that time. I am glad Wes stayed true to his style and didn't sell out because his next films share similar trademarks which he began establishing in Bottle Rocket. This is perhaps his most normal looking film if you take into account the cinematography, but the quirky sense of humor is pretty much the same as well as some other technical aspects of the film (the font title cards at the beginning and the slow motion shot at the end). The same can be said for Owen Wilson who kind of plays this dumb but nice guy character in most of his comedies. It's not Anderson's best work, but his quirky style began taking shape with Bottle Rocket. The screenplay was co-written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson from a short they had made a couple of years earlier. The film opens with Dignan (Owen Wilson) trying to help his best friend, Anthony (Luke Wilson) escape from a mental institution. Dignan has designed a great escape plan, but what he doesn't know is that Anthony can leave the institution upon his free will considering he voluntarily signed up for it after he had a nervous breakdown from exhaustion. This opening scene clearly establishes that Dignan is less sane than Anthony. He has established a long term plan for the two involving a criminal spree. The first step is robbing Anthony's mother's house but they can only take a few valueless items. The idea is that they get some criminal experience so they can catch the attention of Dignan's former boss, Mr. Henry (James Caan), who is sort of a legend in the criminal world. Next they plan a bookstore robbery, but this time they will need a getaway driver so they convince their friend Bob (Robert Musgrave) to join them. After successfully achieving their plan they hide out at a nearby motel where Anthony falls deeply in love with a Paraguayan maid named Inez (Lumi Cavazos). This is where the dysfunctional group of friends breaks down and things take a turn for each one of them.Bottle Rocket was on Martin Scorsese's list of his top 10 favorite movies of the 90's. The quirky sense of humor isn't for everyone, but fans of Wes Anderson's comedies will really enjoy this considering it was the birthing point of some of his technical achievements. It may be less depressing and cynical in tone than some of his other comedies, but the whimsy characters he creates are very familiar. You can clearly see the fascination he has for exploring these dysfunctional relationships of dorky middle to upper class people. It's a refreshing film and very different from your standard buddy comedy. It's witty and despite not having many hilarious moments, the film does manage to keep a smile on your face for most of its runtime. For a debut performance Owen Wilson really shines on screen and delivers his lines with perfect timing. I really enjoyed this offbeat comedy although I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who isn't a fan of Wes Anderson. I always recommend my favorite, The Royal Tenenbaums, to people who haven't seen any of his film.