Breakfast of Champions (1999)

*Get a physical copy of "Breakfast of Champions" on Amazon here*
*Get a copy of Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of Kurt Vonnegut: The Complete Novels (Library of America Boxed Set) on Amazon here*
*Get the "Breakfast of Champions" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Amazon here*

I do not pretend to "get" this adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s novel, but I certainly enjoyed the ride.

Vonnegut is almost impossible to film, "Slaughterhouse Five" is the most successful, while I still can't believe I survived "Slapstick (of Another Kind)." The plot, for what it is, goes a little something like this. Bruce Willis is Dwayne Hoover, who runs a giant car dealership in Midland City. His spaced-out wife Cecilia (Barbara Hershey) pops pills and watches television all day. His son George (Lukas Haas) is a lounge singer, dropping his first name in exchange for 'Bunny.' Nick Nolte is Willis' sales manager Harry, a paranoid cross dresser. Glenne Headly is Francine, Dwayne's receptionist and mistress. Dwayne does not seem to be going through a midlife crisis so much as a nervous breakdown. The people around him notice a change in his behavior, as his sincere grin flashes on his commercials, which play nonstop, but he is in his own personal hell. He is asking the question many of us ask: why are we here? As his life crumbles around him, he sticks a gun in his mouth three different times, never following through with a way out that would not answer his ultimate question. Wayne (Omar Epps) is a released prison inmate who wants to work for Dwayne Hoover just because their names are similar. He probably gets the most mainstream laughs, as he lives out of his new car on the car lot, turning it into something nicer than a few of my former apartments. Into this nightmarish fray comes writer Kilgore Trout (Albert Finney). He has written two hundred novels and two thousand short stories, but they have all been published by porno mags and hardcore sex novel publishers. He is invited to Midland City for an arts festival, and the novel he has may contain the answer to life that Dwayne is looking for. The film lurches along through Dwayne and company's day.

Every character has a quirk, and that may be a detriment as the viewer has trouble latching onto someone to help wade through all the eye candy. Director Rudolph impresses, throwing in visual effects that dazzle. He also wrote the screenplay, and shows a true affection for the source novel. Mark Isham's musical score is perfect- Muzak on crack. The performances in this over-the-top story are brilliant. Willis had not been able to be this loose onscreen in a very long time, and he seemed to be having a ball. There are no bad actors in the "Wow!" cast, look for Owen Wilson and Michael Clarke Duncan in small roles. The description of this film on the old video box likens this to a mainstream comedy, and that is a huge mistake. People renting this and expecting "Airplane!" or some Adam Sandler-driven flick are going to be supremely disappointed. This is weird, deep stuff that a lot of people out there will not consider their cup of tea. On the other hand, Rudolph pulls out all the stops, shows us the weird and crazy, then tries to get us to care about the plot. In fact, this is not a plotty film, it is character driven, but Rudolph tries to keep this one convention in an otherwise unconventional film.

This is truly one of the most bizarre films ever made, right in line with "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Where drugs fueled the mania in that film, here the mania is caused by something we deal with everyday- life.

Stats:
(1982) 110 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Alan Rudolph
-Screenplay by Alan Rudolph based on the novel by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
-Cast: Bruce Willis, Barbara Hershey, Albert Finney, Nick Nolte, Glenne Headly, Lukas Haas, Omar Epps, Vicki Lewis, Buck Henry, Owen Wilson, Will Patton, Kurt Vonnegutt Jr., Jake Johannsen, Chip Zien, Alison Eastwood
(R)