Bottle Rocket

It was rather interesting, as a huge fan of the feature, to finally get a look at the original 13 minute short, which the director himself says he cannot watch without cringing. I didn't cringe at all, in fact I was elated to see the bare bones of a simple plot, simply worded and simply acted. It was great to see what two years, a great production crew, a great cast and 6 million dollars can do to a movie. Unfortunately it's hard for me to separate the original from the feature, but one can definitely see the potentially unique voices in this piece.

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.

This is the type of film that should be popular among film goers. Yet, none of my friends have ever seen or heard of Bottle Rocket. The dialogue is very well written and the characters are amazingly funny. I am glad that the commercialization of the film industry and American society as a whole has left room for films like Bottle Rocket. It is not exactly film art; but, damn close.

A simple movie that went far beyond what could have been expected. I have been fascinated with Wes Anderson ever since. The Wilson brothers shocked me in that they were so easy going through the whole film. Never before have I been so intrigued about a movie that involved so little detail, which in itself proves there was great detail and a great effort in keeping the detail. The laughs are there, but it's no Happy Gilmore. That's a big reason why I like it. I would recommend this film to anyone who is quirky and who likes to see a young, raw Owen Wilson. Wes Anderson has gone on to make other wonderful pieces of filmery, but you gotta love his first effort purely for its simplicity.

This is the FIRST Bottle Rocket, not the full length. This version begins after the breakout in th '96 version, and ends after the boys RECAP the bookstore robbery to Bob. This is interesting to watch for hardcore Wes fans, and if Criterion loves us, they will release a DVD including this original on it. Especially worth seeing is the "I bought the gun" scene, where Dignan flips out in a vulgar rage which only Owen Wilson could have executed the way he did.

The Bottle Rocket '96 trailer includes a shot of Anthony breaking into a car to steal a wallet, but the scene is cut from the actual movie. That scene is present in the short version.