Lone Star Cinema: Bottle Rocket
[Editor's Note: Lone Star Cinema is a new series in which we look at Austin and Texas-shot/set movies that are available on DVD, Blu-ray or online.]
While some filmmakers need a few films to their credit before developing their styles, Wes Anderson's joyously skewed cinematic vision has been evident from the start of his career. Anderson's first feature, Bottle Rocket, has all the hallmarks of his later movies -- quirky characters, the presence of one or more Wilson brothers (in this case, three of them), an unlikely but somehow believable story (at least within Anderson's cinematic world) and a cheerful pop-music soundtrack, to name but a few.
Released in 1996 and based on an earlier short film with the same title, Bottle Rocket is the story of three Texas friends with grandiose plans to go on a crime spree, a goal for which they are wholly and hilariously unqualified. The plot revolves around Anthony Adams (Luke Wilson), who -- upon his release from a mental hospital -- joins his friend Dignan (Owen Wilson, who also co-wrote the script) in a vaguely defined and ill-advised scheme to commit various crimes with Dignan's former boss, Mr. Henry (James Caan).
Joining Anthony and Dignan is their oily, ne'er-do-well neighbor, Bob Mapplethorpe (Robert Musgrave). Knowing nothing about the criminal arts and needing some cash, the three get in a little practice by robbing a bookstore. The heist goes awry, of course, and they go on the lam, ending up at a remote motel.
Anthony falls in love with motel maid Inez (Lumi Cavazos), and much of Bottle Rocket focuses on their unlikely relationship. Sadly, the relationship must give way to Anthony's other priorities, namely moving on from the motel and continuing his life of crime. He, Dignan and Bob later join Mr. Henry in robbing a cold storage facility; not surprisingly, this heist doesn't go according to plan, either. As in any Anderson film, oddball hilarity ensues.
Many Anderson fans may have missed Bottle Rocket, which was a critical darling but a box-office flop. This is unfortunate, for while Bottle Rocket shares its look and feel with Anderson's later works, its brashness and low-budget production values give it a freshness and charm that some of Anderson's subsequent and far more elaborate movies lack. Fifteen years after its release, Bottle Rocket has lost little of its gleefully eccentric appeal. It remains tied with The Royal Tenenbaums as my favorite Anderson film, a stripped-down testament to the Houston-born filmmaker's particular brand of eccentric genius.
Fortunately, fans who missed Bottle Rocket can see it on a Criterion Collection Blu-ray
UPDATE: AFF has cancelled this screening. In addition, the 2011 Austin Film Festival and Luke Wilson will present a special screening of Bottle Rocket as part of a tribute to producer Polly Platt, with a special taped intro by Wes Anderson. Catch it on Sunday, October 23 at 1:30 pm at the Paramount. (You can buy tickets at the box office if you don't have a badge or pass.)
Austin/Texas Connections: Bottle Rocket was filmed in and around Dallas. For a comprehensive list of the locations, refer to this handy web page; note that some of the information probably is out of date. The motel made famous in Bottle Rocket is in Hillsboro, about 70 miles south of Dallas. (In July, Alamo Rolling Roadshow screened Bottle Rocket at the motel in an attempt to save it from closing.)
Wes Anderson and all three Wilson brothers are native Texans. Anderson and Owen Wilson attended The University of Texas at Austin, where they were roommates.