So...what did you get out of this movie?

Back when I first posted about Bottle Rocket, there were about 2 posts for the movie. Now, there are many. So, when I am about to tell you that I like the subtle humor of it, it was subtle when I watched the movie. Now that viewers have the ability to read these posts and know all the jokes before they even see it, they might not be so subtle.

There are several things I like about the movie...all of them very subtle.

I love the subtle humor of it. It is one of those movies you can watch and get something new from it very many times. I think this is also the kind of movie you need to be in the mood to watch. I have experienced several movies I didn't care for on the first viewing that I then liked a lot much later. For example, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The World According to Garp are two such movies. The first subtle joke I picked up on is when Dignan is explaining the bookstore heist. Referring to Bob as the zero in the car. My wife didn't pick up on that, but I did. There were several 'jokes' I didn't pick up on for quite some time. Some not even until after I had read about them here. My most recent self-made discovery was when Dignan made a comment about his 14 years of education. To me, that means he flunked two grades. I never really noticed that before even though I had probably seen the movie half a dozen times by then.

Do you not think the cold storage heist is funny? I laugh a lot at that scene. Not only do I think it is one of the funniest scenes I have seen in a movie, I also think for heist type movies, it is probably one of the most realistic. Have you as an adult worn a Halloween costume mask? I wear one every Halloween and it darn near suffocates me. I can't see worth a crap through it, I can't hear, and I can barely breathe. Yet we see crime movies all the time where villains wear masks with no issues. In the cold storage heist they are having trouble getting their masks on, want to take them off, can't see because they have deployed a smoke grenade, and there is utter chaos. Probably far more realistic in this type of event. I find its realism very funny in that way. Kind of for the same reason I find Owen Wilson so funny in Shanghai Noon. In one of his first scenes he is whining about the new guy screwing things up. That is so realistic in that everywhere I go it always seems like I am dealing with the new guy/gal and they don't seem to know what they are doing. When have you ever seen a movie where that is an issue? It is in Shanghai Noon. I like that. But, this is about BR.

I also like the fact that in the movie, I sense that Anthony has no sense of time. When I watch him, I feel like he has all the time in the world. I don't know why I get that sense, but I do. My life is so hectic and fast paced, I am always watching a clock somewhere. Not Anthony. I find his character relaxing that way.

I like that when I watch this movie, I feel like I can smell summer. Do you know what I mean? When its warm and you can smell the summer? Maybe I am smelling fresh cut grass or something, but it has this smell. In some scenes of BR, I feel that way. It may be the lighting. I recall some scenes that must have been filmed at sunrise or sunset because of the lighting.

I think some of the humor is fairly sophistocated. The three-way dialog between Anthony, Inez, and Rocky the dishwasher is quite well done.

Mostly, I think I probably like this movie because I knew someone once that kind of reminds me of Dignan. He was naive like that. Kind of an innocent. Maybe I like this movie because Dignan reminds me of an old friend. I wonder if my old friend can hear me? Ca-caw ca-caw!



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"If stagnation is the ailment, and change the cure...why does puppetmaster where gloves?"

I didn't get anything out of this movie. It was completely overrated. The turbid plot was boring, and twenty minutes in I was yawning. It tried too hard to be quirky and wacky. It was dull. What a disappointment. Everyone fawns over this movie, so I rented it from netflix. Weak. My girlfriend is a Wilson bros. fan and she fell asleep an hour in. What did I get from this movie? 91 minutes of my life wasted.

I didn't get too much out of it but a few good laughs. I enjoyed the movie a lot however. I thought it was hilarious and well done. The only thing I wished would have been in the movie more was Inez's character. I really liked Luke Wilson and her together, and I wish they would have been in it more together.

i dont know if this movie is going to "phase you" whether you love it or hate it.

the humor is subtle, but not for the sake of being subtle...its just very casual and true to the characters. There are no jokes; there are oddities and ironies and uncomfortable truths and distorted logics and interesting revelations but at no point does any happening in the movie serve the purpose of humor primarily over the purpose of the story/character development

If you are a Wes Anderson fan (and you should be) then i really feel like the key to his movies is to buy into them, to give your expectations and hopes and imagination over to him. The pace of this movie could be unsettling if you think you know what is going to happen or if you think you know what kind of movie it is going to become. If, however you just watch it and take it in it feels good. What the characters do is rarely humorous or meaningful at first (and even upon the first viewing) but as you watch it you are able to say "Ah! that's Dignan" and that is what a Wes Anderson film is all about.

This movie is to me:smart,funny, honest, clever, comfortable, offbeat, complete.

this movie is not to me: edgy, stereotypical, predictable, exciting, ambitious, too clever, too honest, too offbeat, too smart.

i can understand not getting excited about it, but if you found if unenjoyable i honestly think that your expectations are limiting your ability to experience the film.

-i'm looking for a dare-to-be-great situation-

Right on jmlamerson.. I think that just about sums it all up. At least that's why I keep coming back to his movies time after time.

Funny how many people don't realize what an idiot they look like when they say "phase" instead of "faze". I see it all the time. Seems to be an American thing. 'Course, Yanks are better at making idiots of themselves than most others.

I just watched this movie and actually it was the first Wes Anderson movie I've seen (trying to watch all of them before Moonrise Kingdom). What I got out of this movie was a sense of wonderment and a moral of teamwork.

Unlike most movies, in Bottle Rocket, Dignan and the others are pulling off heists without much of a backstory or any threatening motivation (ie. need the money, pay off mob debt). Actually Bob seems to be doing quite well (he has a nice house and is a member of a country club that he rarely uses.) But they seem to be pulling these heists just out of pure enjoyment of being around each other and that is what I believe the movie to be about: That it doesn't matter whether you have $16 and your car is broken down on the side of the road or that you're in jail or even that you don't speak the same language as the girl you love that just being with them, being part of a team, and having fun is all that you need.

As for the title Bottle Rocket (I haven't researched this and it is probably not true), but I think that Bottle Rocket is a metaphor for the heists that they pull in the sense that fireworks and bottle rockets although dangerous (and illegal in some states) are just another fun activity to do with friends when you're bored. Kind of like how their heists are dangerous and they just do them because they are bored.

That's my take on it anyways.

*SPOILERS*

One interesting thing I noticed on 2nd viewing was how the mental state of Anthony and Dignan. The film starts out with Anthony as the one with mental issues, and Dignan the stronger and supportive of the 2. At realise that Dignan may end up with mental issues. We gradually saw that he had confidence problems and saw him being crossed a couple of times.

At the end when Dignan when Anthony is staring at Dignan walking back into prison, I can see him ask himself 'will he be okay?'

"To learn my teachings, I must first teach you how to learn"

THE SPHINX