Bottle Rocket

A

Directed by Wes Anderson

Thirteen years after Wes Anderson and his buddy Owen Wilson, at that time both unknown slackers from Austin living in poverty with Owen's brothers Luke and Andrew, made "Bottle Rocket" Wes in an A-List director, Owen and Luke are both A- List (or at least B+ list) actors, and Andrew...well, Andrew is still known as Luke and Owen's brother. Hang in their, Andrew! Your break will come soon enough!
"Bottle Rocket" remains one of Anderson's most personal works and bears the imprint of many themes he would return to in later work. It also marked the emergence of a truly unique American director who would be responsible for some of the best American comedies of the last several decades and reinvigorated, in many ways, an independent film scene that had become bloated on self important, hyper cynical arthouse films.

"Bottle Rocket" opens with Anthony (Luke Wilson) being released from a mental health institution where he has been recovering from a bout of 'exhaustion.' He is met upon his release by his friend Dignan (Owen Wilson) who informs Anthony that he wishes to become a professional thief. Anthony, having nothing better to do, teams up with Dignan and, along with their mutual friend Bob, set off on a hapless path towards a career of crime. After a first, mildly succesful armed robbery, the gang sets off on the lam and lays low until the day they can finally meet local criminal kingpin Mr. Henry (James Caan) and become part of his crew.

When "Bottle Rocket" was released in 1996 I wasn't yet really into films yet which is excusable, I suppose, since I was 11 at the time and the only thing I could watch was strictly PG fare. I can imagine, however, how shocking it was for someone who had become accustomed to the cynicism and misanthropy displayed by many (especially young) filmmakers in their works during the time to stumble across "Bottle Rocket," a film completely free of cynicism and immensely sympathetic towards its characters. Many of Anderson's subsequent films have been similar to Bottle Rocket in their tenor, focusing on down on their luck characters seemingly destined to failure while being nevertheless filled with a sense of optimism as to the betterment of their lot in life. Anderson's characters are almost never roll models or particularly appealing individuals in their own right but are almost always shown as possessing personal attributes that are both redeeming as well as cause for optimism in regards to their future endeavors. Dignan is perhaps the best example of such a character, a jobless loser whose plan to become a career criminal goes comically awry, who is nonetheless presented by Anderson as a cause for hope, a character who, despite being a hapless criminal, is still honest, good natured and ultimately admirable. As Martin Scorcese points out in his short essay on "Bottle Rocket" (available in the Criterion Release of the film), what originally drew him towards Anderson's films was the deep empathy he obviously feels towards his character, a quality that has remained with Anderson from "Bottle Rocket" all the way through to his most recent films.