Bottle Rocket

1996 film by Wes Anderson

This article is about the 1996 film. For other uses, see Bottle Rocket (disambiguation).

Bottle Rocket

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Wes Anderson
Written by| Owen C. Wilson
Wes Anderson
Based on| Bottle Rocket
by Owen C. Wilson
and Wes Anderson
Produced by| Polly Platt
Cynthia Hargrave
Starring|

* Owen Wilson
* Luke Wilson
* Robert Musgrave
* Andrew Wilson
* Lumi Cavazos
* James Caan

Cinematography| Robert Yeoman
Edited by| David Moritz
Music by| Mark Mothersbaugh

Production
companies

Columbia Pictures[1]
Gracie Films[1]

Distributed by| Sony Pictures Releasing

Release date

* February 21, 1996 (1996-02-21)

Running time

| 91 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $5 million[2]
Box office| $560,069[3]

Bottle Rocket is a 1996 American crime comedy film directed by Wes Anderson in his feature film directorial debut. Written by Anderson and Owen Wilson and based on Anderson's 1992 short film of the same name, it also marks the acting debuts of brothers Owen and Luke Wilson; also featured are their older brother Andrew, Robert Musgrave, Lumi Cavazos, and James Caan. Principal photography took place in various locations throughout Texas.

Though not a commercial success due to its limited release in theaters on February 21, 1996, the film received acclaim from critics and launched the film careers of Anderson and the Wilson brothers. Director Martin Scorsese later named Bottle Rocket one of his top-ten favorite films of the 1990s.

## Plot

[edit]

In Arizona, Dignan "rescues" his friend Anthony from a voluntary psychiatric unit, where he has been staying for self-described exhaustion. Dignan has developed a 75-year plan that he shows to Anthony. The plan is to pull off several heists, and then meet up with a Mr. Henry, a landscaper and part-time criminal known to Dignan.

As a practice heist, the two friends break into Anthony's family's house, stealing specific items from a previously agreed upon list. Critiquing the heist, Dignan reveals that he took a pair of earrings not specified on the list. This upsets Anthony, as he purchased the earrings for his mother as a gift and specifically left them off the list. Anthony visits his little sister at her school and asks her to return the earrings.

Dignan recruits Bob Mapplethorpe as a getaway driver because he is the only person they know with a car. The three of them buy a gun and return to Bob's house to plan their next heist, which will be at a local bookstore. The group bickers as Dignan struggles to describe his intricate plan.

The group steals a small sum of money from the bookstore and goes "on the lam", stopping to stay at a motel. Anthony meets Inez, one of the motel maids, and the two spark a romance despite a language barrier.

Bob learns that his marijuana crop at home has been discovered by police, and his older brother has been arrested. He leaves to help his brother without telling Dignan. Before leaving the motel themselves, Anthony gives Dignan an envelope to give to Inez. Dignan delivers it to her while she is cleaning a room, not knowing that the envelope has most of his and Anthony's money inside. Inez does not open the envelope.

As Dignan is leaving, Inez asks a male friend of hers to tell him that she loves Anthony. When he delivers the message he says, "Tell Anthony I love him." Dignan fails to realize he is speaking for Inez and does not deliver the message.

Dignan discovers an Alfa Romeo Spider, and he and Anthony continue with the plan. The car breaks down and Anthony reveals that the envelope Dignan gave to Inez contained their cash. They have a confrontation and part ways.

Sometime later, Dignan, who has joined Mr. Henry's gang, tracks Anthony down and they reconcile. Dignan invites him to a heist with Mr. Henry which he accepts on the condition that Bob is allowed in as well.

The four of them plan to rob a safe at a cold storage facility. Mr. Henry becomes a role model for the others, standing up to Bob's abusive brother and tutoring Dignan on success. He invites the trio to a party, and visits them at the Mapplethorpes' house. Anthony learns of Inez's love for him and calls her. Her English has improved and they rekindle their relationship.

The group conducts their heist at the cold storage facility with Applejack and Kumar, accomplices from Mr. Henry's landscaping company. The plan falls apart, with Kumar unable to crack the safe, and Bob accidentally firing his gun, which in turn triggers a cardiac event in Applejack.

As the police arrive, Dignan locks himself out of the escape van and is arrested and brutalized by police. While the crew are doing their heist, Mr. Henry loads furniture from Bob's home into a truck. Anthony and Bob later visit Dignan in prison and tell him about Mr. Henry robbing Bob.

While Bob and Anthony say goodbye, Dignan begins rattling off an escape plan and tells his friends to get into position for a getaway. After a tense moment, the two realize Dignan is joking. Dignan says to Anthony, "Isn't it funny that you used to be in the nuthouse and now I'm in jail?" as he walks back into the prison.

## Cast

[edit]

* Owen Wilson as Dignan
* Luke Wilson as Anthony Adams
* Robert Musgrave as Bob Mapplethorpe
* James Caan as Abe Henry
* Lumi Cavazos as Inez
* Ned Dowd as Dr. Nichols
* Shea Fowler as Grace
* Haley Miller as Bernice
* Kumar Pallana as Kumar
* Andrew Wilson as Jon Mapplethorpe / Future Man
* Brian Tenenbaum as Clay Murchison
* Stephen Dignan as Rob
* Anna Cifuentes as Carmen
* Donny Caicedo as Rocky
* Jim Ponds as Applejack

## Production

[edit]

In 1992, Wes Anderson directed a 13-minute short film, titled Bottle Rocket.[4] The short was filmed in black and white, and also starred Owen and Luke Wilson and Musgrave. The short had a similar plot to the later feature film.[5] The film was screened at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival,[6] where it attracted the attention of filmmaker James L. Brooks who agreed to finance a full-length version of the short.[7]

With the exception of its introduction, which was shot at Camarillo State Mental Hospital, the feature-length film was shot in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Hillsboro, Texas.[8] The scenes at Bob Mapplethorpe's house were filmed at the John Gillin Residence.[9]

After the film failed to achieve commercial success, Owen Wilson considered joining the Marines.[10] Bill Murray was considered for the role of Abe Henry.[11][12]

## Reception

[edit]

Fans watch a showing in Hillsboro, TX at the motel where much of the movie was filmed.

Bottle Rocket received generally positive reviews from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 86% rating based on 71 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's consensus describes the film as "Reservoir Dogs meets Breathless with a West Texas sensibility".[13] On Metacritic, it has a 66/100 weighted average score based on 24 critics.[14]

Martin Scorsese is a fan of the film, calling it one of his favorite movies of the 1990s.[15][16] In a 2000 interview with Esquire, Scorsese praised Wes Anderson for his ability to "convey the simple joys and interactions between people so well and with such richness".[15]

## Home media

[edit]

In 2008, Bottle Rocket was released on DVD and Blu-ray as part of The Criterion Collection.[17] It will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray by Criterion on September 30, 2025, as part of the ten film collection The Wes Anderson Archive: Ten Films, Twenty-Five Years and as a standalone disc.[18]

## See also

[edit]

* Film portal

* Bottle Rocket (soundtrack)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Bottle Rocket". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
2. ^ Silverman, Jeff (February 4, 1996). "FILM;Their Feet in Texas, Their Heads in the Clouds". The New York Times. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
3. ^ "Bottle Rocket". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
4. ^ Calvario, Liz (June 25, 2016). "Wes Anderson's 'Bottle Rocket' Short Film: Watch the 13 Minute Clip That Launched His Career". IndieWire. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
5. ^ Taylor, Trey (February 24, 2016). "What you didn't know about Wes Anderson's first film". Dazed. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
6. ^ "Wes Anderson's first film, the original B&W 'Bottle Rocket' short from 1992". DangerousMinds. June 21, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
7. ^ Thomas-Mason, Lee (July 15, 2021). "Wes Anderson's black-and-white short film 'Bottle Rocket'". Far Out. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
8. ^ Seal, Mark. "Celebrated Weekend: Luke Wilson's Austin". American Way. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
9. ^ Neilson, Charlotte. "Bottle Rocket 1996 - The Gillin Residence". Casting Architecture. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
10. ^ "Owen Wilson: From movies to the marines". Leatherneck. June 20, 2006. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
11. ^ Locke, Greg W. (August 26, 2011). "The Top 25 Roles Bill Murray Didn't Take". Ze Catalist. Archived from the original on November 25, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
12. ^ Evans, Bradford (February 17, 2011). "The Lost Roles of Bill Murray". Vulture. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
13. ^ "Bottle Rocket (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
14. ^ "Bottle Rocket". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
15. ^ a b Khatchatourian, Maane (March 6, 2014). "Wes Anderson: 12 Fun Facts About His Movies". Variety. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
16. ^ Martin Scorsese (guest host), Roger Ebert (host) (February 26, 2000). "Martin Scorsese's Best Films of the '90s". Roger Ebert & the Movies. Season 1. Episode 26.
17. ^ "Bottle Rocket". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
18. ^ Zavaleta, Jonathan (June 2, 2025). "The $500 Wes Anderson Criterion Box Set Is Cinephile Catnip". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 3, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Bottle Rocket.

* Bottle Rocket at IMDb
* Bottle Rocket at Box Office Mojo
* Bottle Rocket at Rotten Tomatoes
* Screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
* Photos of Bottle Rocket Movie Locations As They Appear Today
* Bottle Rocket an essay by James L. Brooks at The Criterion Collection

* v
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* e

Films directed by Wes Anderson

* Filmography
* Awards and nominations

Feature films|

* Bottle Rocket (1996)
* Rushmore (1998)
* The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
* The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
* The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
* Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
* Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
* The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
* Isle of Dogs (2018)
* The French Dispatch (2021)
* Asteroid City (2023)
* The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More (2024)
* The Phoenician Scheme (2025)

Short films|

* Hotel Chevalier (2007)
* Castello Cavalcanti (2013)
* Come Together: A Fashion Picture in Motion (2016)
* The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Gracie Films

James L. Brooks

TV series|

* The Tracey Ullman Show (1987–1990)
* The Simpsons (1989–present)
* Sibs (1991–1992)
* Phenom (1993–1994)
* The Critic (1994–1995)
* What About Joan? (2001–2002)

Feature films|

* Broadcast News (1987)
* Big (1988)
* Say Anything... (1989)
* The War of the Roses (1989)
* I'll Do Anything (1994)
* Jerry Maguire (1996)
* Bottle Rocket (1996)
* As Good as It Gets (1997)
* Riding in Cars with Boys (2001)
* Spanglish (2004)
* The Simpsons Movie (2007)
* How Do You Know (2010)
* The Edge of Seventeen (2016)
* Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)

Short films|

* The Longest Daycare (2012)
* Playdate with Destiny (2020)
* The Force Awakens from Its Nap (2021)
* The Good, the Bart, and the Loki (2021)
* The Simpsons | Balenciaga (2021)
* Plusaversary (2021)
* Te Deseo Lo Mejor (2021)
* When Billie Met Lisa (2022)
* Welcome to the Club (2022)
* The Simpsons Meet the Bocellis in "Feliz Navidad" (2022)
* Rogue Not Quite One (2023)
* May the 12th Be with You (2024)
* The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (2024)

* 20th Television
* Sony Pictures

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