A lot of people dismissed Bottle Rocket when it came out back in 1996, and to be fair, it was pretty easy to dismiss a cast of then-unkowns, and a young director making a quirky crime comedy-drama. In the years following the success of Pulp Fiction's release in 1994 there were literally scores of quirky crime comedy-dramas, and by 1996 when Bottle Rocket came out, audiences had become pretty jaded on that formula.
But writer/director Wes Anderson went on to excel at the quirky comedy-drama, producing a string of critically and commercially successful films about oddballs. Given such a distinguished track record, I felt it was time to go back and take a look at his first film, which I remember think was O.K., if a little contrived upon initial viewing.
I must say this is one film that has actually aged pretty well. After roughly two decades, it still maintains a sort of innocent charm. Owen Wilson (who co-wrote), and his brother Luke, and Robert Musgrave, play 3 would-be heist men, planning to make it big with a pre-planned 40 year criminal career. Trouble is they have no idea what crime actually entails, and are pretty incompetent at it.
So, after revisiting it 18 years later I have to say I still find it kind of contrived, but I feel it's entertaining and holds up well. A charming and witty little indie, worth checking out.
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