Sick Product of a Sick System

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

This 20 minute short served as the trailer for and basis of "Bottle Rocket" the feature, which in turn launched Wes Anderson's long career as one of our most critically admired directors.I remember how talked about the short was in film circles, and how it inspired Polly Platt (long time James Brooks partner) to get behind Anderson and champion his getting a shot at doing a feature version. There were many envious young film-makers and film students out there!While the short is rough, it already has the odd, intelligent wit and strong comic acting along with the surprisingly complex characters that marks all Anderson's work. Visually it's nothing special, lacking the specific and idiosyncratic film language Anderson would make his own in films to come, but it tells it's enjoyable shaggy dog story just fine. Luke and Owen Wilson are both very good, and amazingly young. The short is available as an extra on the Criterion release of 'Bottle Rocket' and is well worth seeing - both as a piece of modern film history, and as an entertaining film in it's own right.

The Texan trio Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson were all in their twenties when they decided to shoot this short film. None of them had credits before in the film industry and here they go. For Anderson it was the first directorial effort and screen writing work. For the older Wilson brother it was the first screenplay and acting performance and Luke Wilson has never acted before either.Basically it's a 13-minute display of two buddies not too fond of obeying the law on how they spend their days. They go to a café, visit a shooting range and make a living. All while discussing random topics, meeting other people and sharing every day wisdom. I usually like black-and-white films, but this as just a very forgettable experience. I watched it mainly as I quite like some of Anderson's other work including his other short Hotel Chevalier, which is truly a thing of beauty, but I think Bottle Rocket is only worth the watch if you enjoy one of the trio in most of his other films and even then it's not a guarantee, as in my case.Anyway, Anderson and Luke Wilson continued their fruitful work in the years after this, first by turning it into a full feature, and then by crowning their cooperation when both got nominated for a screenplay Oscar for writing The Royal Tenenbaums five years later.

At this point, I wager, Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson weren't entirely sure how their Bottle Rocket feature would turn out. As a means of getting support for it they made this short film which won over James L. Brooks at Sundance and got them a movie deal at Columbia pictures. Their plan worked... except that their short film had only the smallest of substance- heavy on style, of course, even in the grittiest possible for anything by Wes Anderson- and they spent more than a year or so writing and rewriting the feature until they got it to where it worked, brilliantly.So, as someone who loves the 1996 Bottle Rocket, I have to say that this one was just alright. But alright in that sense that does get you excited about a couple of things. For one thing the Wilson brothers, however airy their delivery, already have an interesting rapport going on, and certain scenes are identical to how it came out in the feature such as the robbery of the house, or of the shooting of the cans with the guns (the Charlie Brown music is an especially funny and awesome touch). I also liked how they introduced the book-store into the story, how the bits and pieces of visual information were kind of "stolen" shots probably taken when no one was looking in the aisles and around the corners. It overall is something slight, but it works for a 13 minute short with a sort of abrupt ending.

'Bottle Rocket' is the first project written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, starring Owen and his brother Luke. This short, shown at Sundance, made sure they got to make the feature film 'Bottle Rocket' (1996). Of course they came with 'Rushmore', 'The Royal Tenenbaums' and 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' next.This short, shot in black and white, is sort of the same as the first fifteen minutes of the feature film version. It shows three friends named Dignan (Owen Wilson), Anthony (Luke) and Bob (Robert Musgrave) preparing for a heist, not much more. Before the real deal they practice once, buy guns, and then it's show time.The dialogue and natural acting makes this an above average short film. The writing is pretty clever and most moments will make you smile. Most of the time it is quite exciting to see one of those "first films" from established directors; 'Bottle Rocket' is no exception.