Bottle Rocket (1996)
May 22, 2019 9:07 PM - Subscribe
Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a hare-brained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry.
Wes Anderson’s feature-length directorial debut, as well as the debut of both Luke and Owen Wilson. Also stars James Caan, Lumi Cavazos and Robert Musgrave.
Metacritic: 66
Rotten Tomatoes: 85
One of Scorsese’s favourite movies of the 90s
Criterion essay on Bottle Rocket
Wes Anderson’s feature-length directorial debut, as well as the debut of both Luke and Owen Wilson. Also stars James Caan, Lumi Cavazos and Robert Musgrave.
Metacritic: 66
Rotten Tomatoes: 85
One of Scorsese’s favourite movies of the 90s
Criterion essay on Bottle Rocket
There are parts of this movie that haven’t aged super well - it feels oh so white to me now, with so little for the women to do (a movie with a cypher for a love interest who only serves the hero’s growth and no other women at all is arguably worse than a movie with only dudes)- but, oh, it sits near my heart.
posted by Going To Maine at 10:42 PM on May 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 10:42 PM on May 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
It is so fucking funny. I watched it again recently and couldn't believe how funny and weird it is. They were really young to be making something that good. I like how you can see glimpses of the twee that Wes Anderson later goes all in on.
Lumi Cavazos had been fabulous in Like Water for Chocolate and the Wilsons couldn't think beyond casting her as a maid.
I don't know if this is really fair? It was 1996 in Texas. A young non-English speaking woman emigrating from Paraguay wouldn't have had a lot of great career options.
posted by something something at 4:37 AM on May 23, 2019
Lumi Cavazos had been fabulous in Like Water for Chocolate and the Wilsons couldn't think beyond casting her as a maid.
I don't know if this is really fair? It was 1996 in Texas. A young non-English speaking woman emigrating from Paraguay wouldn't have had a lot of great career options.
posted by something something at 4:37 AM on May 23, 2019
TX's latinx population was about a third of the total 4 years later. Cavazos could have portrayed a whole range of professions.
posted by brujita at 9:37 AM on May 23, 2019
posted by brujita at 9:37 AM on May 23, 2019
The yellow jumpsuits are my favorite. “You look like a little banana” being a common thing to say about anything yellow in our house.
posted by fancyoats at 1:01 PM on May 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by fancyoats at 1:01 PM on May 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
I saw this for the first time fairly recently, and I really thought it was good. To me it was what it was and didn't need to be anything else (which as an aside is a weird thing to say if you think about it, everything is itself, but more that it's comfortable in it's skin and is the better for it). Some of the Owen Wilson stuff didn't always hit for me, but it's an enjoyable watch.
posted by Carillon at 10:06 PM on May 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Carillon at 10:06 PM on May 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
If I get my hair cut short my kid will ask me if I'm in the military, and I have to reply "I just have short hair".
If anything in our house breaks we'll say "I don't have the tools to fix this, and even if I did I wouldn't know how".
Anytime anyone on NextDoor asks for a lawn care recommendation, I come up with the best lawn-related pun I can think of (The Lawn Wranglers was the first one I threw out, but this has been going on for at least 4+ years).
We almost named our last cat Applejack.
We were at someone's house this winter and their backyard pool had a single leaf in it. My kid pulled me over to it, picked it out and said under their breath "What the fuck is this?".
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 6:37 AM on May 24, 2019 [2 favorites]
If anything in our house breaks we'll say "I don't have the tools to fix this, and even if I did I wouldn't know how".
Anytime anyone on NextDoor asks for a lawn care recommendation, I come up with the best lawn-related pun I can think of (The Lawn Wranglers was the first one I threw out, but this has been going on for at least 4+ years).
We almost named our last cat Applejack.
We were at someone's house this winter and their backyard pool had a single leaf in it. My kid pulled me over to it, picked it out and said under their breath "What the fuck is this?".
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 6:37 AM on May 24, 2019 [2 favorites]
Oh, and I like to throw out "Well I'm growing a crop of marijuana plants in my parents' backyard" as a qualification sometimes.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 6:38 AM on May 24, 2019
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 6:38 AM on May 24, 2019
The most common in my house is Dignan's "I'm not always as confident as I look."
posted by something something at 6:57 AM on May 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by something something at 6:57 AM on May 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
"What has she ever accomplished with her life that's so great?"
posted by ODiV at 3:51 PM on May 24, 2019
posted by ODiV at 3:51 PM on May 24, 2019
This is one of those movies that I adored in high school and my early 20s that I have no interest in revisiting because I know it just wouldn't feel the same as it did back then.
posted by tobascodagama at 9:53 AM on May 28, 2019
posted by tobascodagama at 9:53 AM on May 28, 2019
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posted by brujita at 10:22 PM on May 22, 2019 [3 favorites]