It Ain't No Trip to Cleveland (#26: Bottle Rocket)

Before we begin, we must apologize to you, Dearest Reader, for the relative sparse output as of late. There are several explanations for the lag between the last post and today: (1) we're lazy; (2) we're busy; (3) Justified, Downton Abbey, The Americans, and The Walking Dead; and (4) we're lazy.

We shall endeavor to do better.

Now, back to bidness.

#26: Bottle Rocket 

Bottle Rocket stars Luke Wilson as Anthony Adams and Owen C. Wilson (yes, that's how he's credited)* as his best friend Dignan. Anthony's fresh out of a mental hospital for "exhaustion" (though as his baby sister aptly points out, it's odd that he's exhausted despite not having a job or any responsibilities). Following Dignan's 25 year plan for their future as master criminals working for Mr. Henry (casting coup James Caan), Anthony and Dignan team up with rich boy Bob Mapplethorpe# (Richard Musgrave) to knock over a book store. On the run from Johnny Law, which ain't no trip to Cleveland, they hide out in a middle of nowhere motel somewhere in Texas. There, Anthony falls in love with a housekeeper named Inez (Lumi Cavazos, charming). No spoilers, but the team disbands and heads their separate ways. That is, of course, until they reunite for (drum roll, please) one last BIG SCORE to prove their worth to Mr. Henry. And they wear awesome jumpsuits.

I gotta get me one of those jumpsuits.

When you've become used to the highly manicured full scale picture book films Wes Anderson produces these days, it is sort of a shock to watch the relatively low key goof of a heist movie he made for a debut. Sure, the DNA of what would be the Wes Anderson style is there. Emotionally stilted characters with a slightly off kilter view of the world. Meticulous attention to detail. Terrific and unexpected music choices. Characters with bizarre names like Future Man. Futura font (which unfortunately is not a font type for blogger). All the same, there is a shaggy dog sensibility to this movie and relatively "normal" characters, both of which will be excised from future Anderson films. Perhaps that's why I like it so much. It isn't too neat and perfect (which I think is a fair criticism of, say, The Life Aquatic). That little rough around the edges makes the movie both funnier and more emotionally satisfying.

I also have a pet theory that Owen Wilson, who co-wrote this, Rushmore, and The Royal Tenenbaums with Anderson, was the one who injected the "heart" and "lightness" into those movies. I like this theory because: (1) it cuts against Wilson's tabloid image as a drug-crazed sex weirdo and (2) it explains why I felt totally detached from and unmoved by The Life Aquatic and The Darjeeling Limited. I did, however, love Moonrise Kingdom and The Fantasic Mr. Fox. So maybe my theory is B.S.

Anyway, this movie is funny and charming and not nearly as stand-offish as Anderson's more recent ouevre, if you're not a fan. Check it out.

FINAL VERDICT: Keep it.

NEXT UP: The Bourne Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum (TRILOGY TIME, BITCHES!).

*The "C" stood for class, which he lost when he made Shanghai Knights. Oooh, BURN! (Shanghai Noon was a perfectly acceptable Western karate buddy picture but LONDON! Royalty? Disbelief no longer suspended).

#No relation to the artist. I think. Unless this is a joke I don't quite get. Which is possible.