Too much of everything

Instant Favorite.

Brilliant and touching

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

I don't understand why this movie is so misunderstood. It is a dark comedy, but very dark. I think most viewers were either looking for: A- A comedy, but this film is more absurdist and tragic than out and out comedy...--or-- B- A regurgitation of the novel.Now I have not read the novel, nor have I read any of the author's book - yet...I will now, based on Breakfast of Champions. No movie will ever include enough of a book to satisfy the viewer, for the simple fact of time...A 30 page short story usually translates into a 90 minute film, so a full novel will be missing many elements (see Davinci's Code...the film was horrible and made little sense unless you read the book) I thought this film (BofC) was brilliant as a stand alone piece. Why? It was a thought provoking tragedy, which focused on the darkly comedic side of tragedy...

Midland City is a perfectly ordinary American city. Within the confines of this small world, dealership owner Dwayne Hoover is a celebrity despite the fact that his wealth and success has only served to make him more and more unstable and unhappy. His wife is suicidal and his secretary offers limited relief in their affair. Not that many others have it better. Harry Le Sabre is his sales manager and is full of guilt over his cross dressing and active sex life. With this community breaking down, small time porno-mag article contributor Kilgore Trout makes his way to the city to take his place as the guest of honour at the arts fest – not quite sure how anyone has heard of him.Another commentator on this site has said that if you showed this film to ten people then probably eight would hate it; those praising it have claimed it to be a wonderful version of Vonnegut's novel. Not having read this, I can believe that he (and this) is an acquired taste because I found it to be an almost unbearably messy affair that was delivered in a silly manner that offered little of interest. Indeed for much of the film I wasn't sure what to make of it. Perhaps it tried to do too much but there seemed to be so many characters rammed in here that most of them just seemed out of place and with no development whatsoever. Of course it didn't help that I didn't see much about those given plenty of time either. Dwayne himself is the perfect example of this; his madness seems to have a reason but the film does a terrible job in bringing this out.Rudolph seems passionate in his direction but it seems he is too close to the material and his direction might assume a familiarisation with the material that the mass audience will not have. The delivery is too silly and knowingly manic – it takes away from the material and it left me feeling like perhaps it was my fault for not having read the story before watching it. It annoyed me as well that such a starry cast were mostly wasted – presumably they saw something in the material that did not make it to the screen. Willis tries hard but is not supported at all. Finney spends most of the time in his own film, not really fitting into the narrative. Nolte is amusing; Hershey is wasted; Epps has been told something by the director that the rest of us aren't let into. Patton, Wilson, Haas, Lewis and others provide thankless supports.This may well be perfect for fans of Vonnegut, I cannot say but suffice to say that I am not one of them. However for the casual viewer this is messy, disjointed and pointless to the point of being painful. I gave it two hours as I tried to work it out, hoping that it would make something out of itself but in the end I was left out of pocket with nothing to show for my investment.

Wow. I have never seen a more awful adaptation of a wonderful book. If Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. were dead, he'd be rolling in his grave. I don't think Alan Rudolph even read the book...MAYBE he read the "Cliff's Notes." Everything that Vonnegut made captivating in Breakfast of Champions was completely spat upon in this movie. That it used many of his sketches from the novel is the only real positive thing I can say. Bruce Willis was a surprisingly convincing Dwayne Hoover. Glenne Headly was well-cast as Francine Pefko. The rest of the cast selection could have been done just as well picking names out of a hat.I understand the necessity of removing back story and minor sub-plots when adapting a novel to the big screen, but so much was lost here that I wouldn't have been able to follow the story had it not been for the fact that I've read the book so many times.To the user who called this a drama, you are wrong. Vonnegut did not write dramas, he wrote dark comedies. There is a fine, yet crucial difference between the two. This movie failed on so many levels to achieve even a fraction of what Vonnegut said.

Great movie... No surprise I guess that I'm a big fan of Vonnegut... A writer with the guts to write in an unashamedly cartoon-like, un-politically correct and honest manner, which I personally dig. The take on Harry LeSabre's cross dressing tendencies (the scene with Wayne Hoobler in Harry's office is priceless), Dwayne Hoover's erratic mood swings and the need for Bunny Hoover and his mum to actually be noticed by the main man of the Exit 11 Motor Village were all acted out with tasty character acting skill and delivered with true gusto and appreciation for the material and it's source. Also, the portrayal of the 'cult' of Kilgore Trout (check out the awesome landscape cinematography behind Kilgore's Sci-Fi ramblings), it's followers and all the other reoccurring characters in Vonneguts's Novels, not to mention those hauntingly surreal mirror sequences in the most unlikely of places were simply beautiful...I first saw this movie in the Phillipines with a packed house. I don't know whether whether I was laughing harder at the movie or more at the disgust of the people watching it... I think they saw the R Rating and Bruce Willis's name and figured they were in for some good old Bruce Willis knock em' dead action with a bit of Hollywood sex mixed in for good measure... However by the time Dwayne Hoover was engaged somewhat romantically with his Secretary in the Holiday Inn honeymoon suite the entire theater was empty save for myself and one man who hadn't yet finished his bucket of fried chicken... I guess some people just don't appreciate the combination of middle-aged water bed sex and unruly comb-overs?? This movie wasn't made for everybody, but so what... I think it had to be made this way... It's a testament to a somewhat bizarre, original and funny writer... Personally I really can't fault it... The acting, direction and soundtrack are wonderful... I'd never been so moved by such a corny old song as 'Stranger in Paradise' before I'd seen this film. As they they, it's all in the delivery... As a music producer and part-time sound-tracker I look up to these sort of works with awe... It's about time we stop worshiping actors to the nth degree and start celebrating storytellers once more...Well done Alan Rudolph and Co. Well done world... Makes me happy to be a part of it... And remember, it's all life until you die ;))