Breakfast of Champions
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Movie Reviews of Breakfast of Champions
Movie Review: Breakfast of Champions
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is hilarious. I saw it like 20 times before I read the book, and couldn't even really tell what it was about, but was intrigued by it nonetheless. Then I read the book, and realized what was going on, and it became 20 times better. All these naysayers don't know what they're talking about. Buy this movie, I've been trying to forever but no one has it but here. BUY BUY BUY!!!!Movie Review: Another of my favourite S.F. author
Summary: 5 Stars
I've the most of Vonnegut's S.F. books on my bookshelfs.
Despite my often changing adress in my life, I've hang on to my S.F. literature, and now i'ts possible to get the movies too.
Movie Review: Yes, I Did Like This Movie
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm not sure who the intended audience was for Breakfast of Champions. Mainstream comedy viewers would tuck tail and run from a film like this, while the Vonnegut fans will(and do) hate it because of the plot changes and missing elements from the book. So I guess that just leaves that small number of folks who like far out and bizarre comedies. Now, I personally don't like comedies just for the fact that they're odd, but I do have a fascination in seeing high profile actors doing things we hardly ever see them do. This came out at the right time coz Willis was hot from that Armageddon pile of sludge.
Breakfast of Champions is one of those films based on an "unfilmable" novel. We've seen this before in movies like Naked Lunch(mixed reviews from critics and Burroughs fans) and American Psycho(actually got favorable reviews). Doing Vonnegut is difficult coz his work is made for the book format due to his quirky and unique narration style. Naturally with a movie you pretty much lose that. One of the best things about Breakfast of Champions(the book) is that Vonnegut was the narrator and let the reader know that he was. He even puts himself in the story as a character! This is all lost in the film.
Plus there are indeed changes made to the story which seem totally unnecessary and certainly don't add to or clarify the story in any way. I can definitely see why Vonnegut fans did not like this movie. However, and I'm only guessing here, I think Vonnegut himself might have liked the offbeat and wacky tone of this movie. He does have a cameo in it as well.
Many folks have gone into the plot, so I won't waste too much time on that, but here's a little rundown: Duane Hoover(Bruce Willis) is a car salesman-a local celebrity everybody loves as though he were a movie star. He's going crazy. He doesn't know who he is or what his purpose is in life and he's off the deep end. He deals with a cross dressing salesman(Nick Nolte), a crazy fan who may want to take his place(Omar Epps), a pill popping wife(Barbara Hershey), and a son who is just about the worst lounge singer you've ever heard(Lucas Haas). Hoover thinks he might find some answers in Kilgore Trout(a reoccurring character in Vonnegut's novels), a failed Sci-Fi writer who has been invited to Hoover's town as part of an art festival.
That's really about it. The style of the movie is fast paced , cartoony, hallucinatory, and zany. Everybody in this movie acts insane, especially Nolte and Epps. Though the two films are quite different, I'd compare this movie to Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas as far as the tone and visuals go. I realize that this isn't a great adaptation of a great novel, and that everyone hated it. I do have to admit however ,judging strictly as a movie, I though it was pretty damn funny. It doesn't all work, but some of it is quite clever and just so odd that it's hilarious. Of course not everyone will agree with that, but humor is a very personalized thing. I think Nolte steals the show. I have never seen him act so crazy before and it's a trip to see him like that. Epps would be a close second for the same reasons. Albert Finney makes a good Kilgore Trout and Willis is passable enough as Hoover. He definitely has his moments too!
Watch at your own risk, coz this one is different to say the least.
Movie Review: An unexpected surprise
Summary: 4 Stars
I have forgone watching this film until now, due to the very bad reviews and the fear of seeing one of my favourite authors pulverized in a travesty of one of his great works. But, one of my kids brought the film home, so I bit that bullet and sat down and watched it. You've read enough reviews by now to get some gist of the story, so I won't go into that again, except to say that it has to do with the madness that results from living a completely amoral and unfulfilling existence. Vonnegut is, I believe, primarily a philosopher and a very funny man who has the rare talent of pulling all of life's absurdities into some kind of focus. It is true that his books do not translate well to the screen because it is his dialogue that is so important and this is generally excluded. However. Breakfast of Champions, however much it could not remain completely faithful to the book, stands as a work of art in its own right. It is very Terry Gilliam in its approach and over-all strangeness, including the plethora of eccentric characters; the cinematography is superb and the acting is brilliant. If you like Gilliam and cult films and David Lynch, you'll probably enjoy this film. If, on the other hand, you tend more towards Speilberg, you will probably find the film an incomprehensible mess. I absolutely do not agree with those who off-handedly bashed the film to pieces as there was a great deal of thought and even love put into this film, and the fact that some find it incomprehensible does not mean that it isn't, only that they are incapable of understanding and appreciating it.
Movie Review: It's not the book but a good movie nonetheless
Summary: 4 Stars
As with many other reviewers, I have to concur that it is somewhat ridiculous to expect the book to translate well into film (there's way too much going on in the book to be able to squeeze it all into a movie). That being said, this is a good, solid comedy based on the core story of the novel and I think the {all-star} cast does an excellent job (most of all Albert Finney as Kilgore Trout -- ..."where I come from that means you're about to steal a mirror...").
If you've read the book and expect the movie to be exactly what you read, you will no doubt be disappointed (I don't think I've ever seen a film adaptation that really lived up to it's literary counterpart/basis).
If you've read the book and can manage your expectations, I think you'll enjoy this movie as much as I did.
If you've never read the book, then, well...read the book! Probably one of the main reasons this film never really made a big hit at the box office was that most of the audience couldn't follow along with the admittedly erratic behavior of the characters since they had never read the book (not to mention it never got the pre-release hype that "big" Hollywood films get -- whether they're good or bad).