BOTTLE ROCKET (1996) **1/2 When Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson were sitting in class, working on this script instead of paying attention and trying to figure out what ridiculous things to make Owen's brother and James Caan say and do, they probably assumed that some day it would lead someone to compare them to Kurt Vonnegut. Here I am. I remember an interview in Rolling Stone (when it was good, before it became an extension of TV Guide) where Kurt graded his works. He gave "Player Piano,"-which was my favorite at the time-an F. It was harsh grading to be sure but re-reading it years later I understood his point. Artists aren't necessarily born fully grown. In fact it's the lesser ones who throw out their one life-developed masterpiece then struggle fruitlessly to ever find another point. This film, like "Player Piano," is full of those wonderful observations that form life-long allegiances to the audience, is all ideas and little production, is wonderfully entertaining, glorifies that which is good at the edge of social perversion, and hints of greater things to come. Only time will tell whether Owen Wilson's droll delivery will eclipse all other American comedy, whether Luke Wilson will become a sensitive heart-throb to compare with Jimmy Stewart, and whether Anderson will assume a place among the great director/writers; but after this anyone with an eye should realize that it's possible.
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