Bottle Rocket 1996

Doug Thomas, Seattle Times: With a wild-card character like Dignan, he could be either the most original character in many a moon -- or never convincing. Wilson, with his cockeyed grin and rapid-fire delivery, comes off as a young Dennis Hopper. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: Bottle Rocket is a beguiling surprise, a terrific little movie comedy about a slightly addled gang of young criminal wannabes. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: A confident, eccentric debut about a trio of shambling and guileless friends who become the Candides of crime, Rocket feels particularly refreshing because it never compromises on its delicate deadpan sensibility. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: Even as you laugh at these guys, you feel an overwhelming sympathy for them. Sensing that they love each other, you want their dumb, dysfunctional lives to work out. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: This is a movie about friendship, about foolhardy endeavors that get your adrenaline going and make you feel life buzzing in your toes. Written with wit and concision and remarkable confidence, Bottle Rocket is a joyride worth taking. Read more

Susan Stark, Detroit News: Read more

Janet Maslin, New York Times: A mildly facetious tone limits Anderson's film to the lightweight, but the collective enthusiasm behind this debut effort still comes through. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: Wes Anderson's 1996 first feature (before Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums) is fresh, character driven, often funny, and unfashionably upbeat (as well as offbeat). Read more

Steve Daly, Entertainment Weekly: The title refers to cheap fireworks that fizz before they flame out quietly, and that's what three Southwestern slackers do in this amiable heist movie-cum-road flick. Read more

Bruce Diones, New Yorker: [Bottle Rocket] meanders pleasantly, like a road movie, with a seventies-style, anything-goes offhandedness that whisks the audience through the rough spots. Read more

David Hinckley, New York Daily News: Bottle Rocket was conceived as a low-budget family affair -- it has more Wilsons than the Beach Boys -- and outside of a few cult-intensive pockets of fandom, that's where it's likely to end up. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Starts and finishes strong, but, somewhere in the middle, it loses its focus and its way. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: I can't recommend the film -- it's too unwound and indulgent -- but I have a certain affection for it, and I'm looking forward to whatever Anderson and the Wilsons do next. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: A grueling, numbing black hole. Read more

Time Out: Caan does a funny cameo as the local crimelord but the film belongs to Anderson's co-conspirator Wilson, whose wired performance leaps off the screen. Read more

David Rooney, Variety: Full of surprising warmth and charm, unexpected plot turns and droll characters that bounce off each other in refreshing ways, this genre-defying Columbia pickup may struggle to overcome its lack of an obvious marketing handle. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: A hilarious, inventive and goofy breath of fresh air. Read more

Rita Kempley, Washington Post: Gets by on quirky charm and slacker chic -- but just barely. Read more