On Video and DVD: Wes Anderson's "Bottle Rocket"

Wes Anderson has produced quirky films such as the independent hit Rushmore and the recent The Royal Tenenbaums. As a fan of Anderson's odd sense of humor, I decided to check out his first film, Bottle Rocket, a small independent movie about three wannabe criminals played by Owen Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Shanghai Noon), Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Legally Blonde), and Robert Musgrave. It is not quite a crime film, but Bottle Rocket does an excellent job spoofing the crime film genre. What is great about this film is that it is not a traditional spoof in the vein of Airplane complete with prat falls, unrealistic situations, and over-the-top acting. Anderson's film is intelligent and the characters never come across as caricatures. While the characters place themselves in ridiculous situations, they never lose their humanity.

Luke Wilson stars as Anthony Adams, a lost soul just out of behavioral treatment for exhaustion. The film opens with Anthony's friend Dignan (Owen Wilson) trying to help Anthony "escape" from the mental hospital, even though Anthony is able to check himself out voluntarily. Anthony plays along with the pretense of the escape, climbing out the window with his own doctor watching. This scene sets the tone for Anthony's character-throughout the film he just plays along with Dignan's crazy schemes.

After Anthony's departure from the hospital, Dignan unveils his 75 year plan for he and Anthony, involving pulling off a practice heist, pulling a major heist, and becoming part of a crew of criminals. To embark upon the plan, they add a third man to their crew, their wealthier friend Bob Maplethorpe (Robert Musgrave), because he has a car. Dignan is very ambitious but his concept of crime is very naive. The practice heist consists of stealing valuables from Anthony's home and the major heist involves robbing a bookstore. The criminal organization that he intends he and Anthony to enter is actually a group of landscapers for which Dignan used to work called the Lawn Wranglers headed by Mr. Henry (James Caan).

After robbing the bookstore, Dignan, Anthony, and Bob lie low for awhile at a hotel in the middle of nowhere. While staying at the hotel, Anthony becomes infatuated with one of the hotel housekeepers, Inez (Lumi Cavalos). Dignan's plans are put on hold when Bob's brother is busted for drug dealing and Bob takes off with his car. Anthony also loses interest in the criminal enterprise when his romance with Inez begins to bloom. However, after a couple of years, the three reteam with members of the Lawn Wranglers to pull off another heist, also with disastrous results.

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