Breakfast of Champions (film)

Last updated
Breakfast of Champions
Breakfast of Champions (film).jpg
US DVD cover
Directed by Alan Rudolph
Screenplay byAlan Rudolph
Based on Breakfast of Champions
by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Produced by David Blocker
David Willis
Starring
Cinematography Elliot Davis
Edited bySuzy Elmiger
Music by Mark Isham
Production
companies
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution [1]
Release date
  • September 17, 1999 (1999-09-17)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million [2]
Box office$178,278 [2]

Breakfast of Champions is a 1999 American satirical black comedy film adapted and directed by Alan Rudolph, from Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s 1973 novel of the same name. Though the producers entered it into the 49th Berlin International Film Festival, [3] the film was negatively received by critics and was a box office bomb that was withdrawn from theatres before going into wide release. While it has been released on VHS and DVD, it has not yet been given a digital release.

Contents

Plot

Dwayne Hoover, a car salesman who is the most respected businessman in Midland City, Indiana, is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, even attempting suicide daily. His wife, Celia, is addicted to pills, and his sales manager and best friend, Harry Le Sabre, is preoccupied with his own secret fondness for wearing lingerie, worried he will be discovered.

Meanwhile, a little-known science fiction author, Kilgore Trout, is hitchhiking across the United States to speak at Midland City's arts festival. In search of answers for his identity quest, Hoover decides to attend the festival.

Cast

Production

Lukas Haas makes a cameo as Bunny, Dwayne's son, who, in the novel, plays piano in the lounge at the Holiday Inn. For legal reasons, in the film Bunny instead plays at the AmeriTel Inn.[ citation needed ]

The film's soundtrack predominantly features the exotica recordings of Martin Denny to tie in with Hoover's Hawaiian-based sales promotion.

Much of the film was shot in and around Twin Falls, Idaho. [4] Kurt Vonnegut makes a one-line cameo as a TV commercial director. [5]

Reception

Box office

The film made $178,278 against a budget of $12 million. [2]

Critical response

Breakfast of Champions received negative reviews, scoring a rating of 26% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 47 reviews, with an average score of 4.23/10. The consensus states: "The movie is overwhelmed by its chaotic visual effects and disjointed storyline." [6] In his review for The New York Times , Stephen Holden wrote "In many ways, Breakfast of Champions is an incoherent mess. But it never compromises its zany vision of the country as a demented junkyard wonderland in which we are all strangers groping for a hand to guide us through the looking glass into an unsullied tropical paradise of eternal bliss." [7] Entertainment Weekly gave the film an "F" rating and Owen Gleiberman wrote, "Rudolph, in an act of insane folly, seems to think that what matters is the story. The result could almost be his version of a Robert Altman disaster — a movie so unhinged it practically dares you not to hate it." [8]

In his review for the San Francisco Chronicle , Peter Stack wrote "Rudolph botches the material big time. Relying on lame visual gimmicks that fall flat, and insisting on pushing almost every scene as frantic comedy weighted by social commentary, he forces his actors to become hams rather than believable characters." [9] Sight and Sound magazine's Edward Lawrenson wrote "Willis' performance, all madness, no method, soon feels embarrassingly indulgent." [10] In his review for the Los Angeles Times , Kevin Thomas wrote "As it is, Breakfast of Champions is too in-your-face, too heavily satirical in its look, and its ideas not as fresh as they should be. For the film to have grabbed us from the start, Rudolph needed to make a sharper differentiation between the everyday world his people live in and the vivid world of their tormented imaginations." [11]

In her review for The Village Voice , Amy Taubin wrote "Another middle-aged male-crisis opus, it begins on a note of total migraine-inducing hysteria, which continues unabated throughout." [12] The French filmmaker and critic Luc Moullet, on the other hand, regarded it as one of the great films of the 1990s. [13]

Vonnegut's reaction

At the close of the Harper audiobook edition of Breakfast of Champions, there is a brief conversation between Vonnegut and his long-time friend and attorney Donald C. Farber, in which the two, among making jokes, disparage this loose film adaptation of the book as "painful to watch." [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Vonnegut</span> American author (1922–2007)

Kurt Vonnegut was an American writer and humorist known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfiction works; further collections have been published after his death.

<i>Slaughterhouse-Five</i> 1969 novel by Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to his time as an American soldier and chaplain's assistant during World War II, to the post-war years. Throughout the novel, Billy frequently travels back and forth through time. The protagonist deals with a temporal crisis as a result of his post-war psychological trauma. The text centers on Billy's capture by the German Army and his survival of the Allied firebombing of Dresden as a prisoner of war, an experience that Vonnegut endured as an American serviceman. The work has been called an example of "unmatched moral clarity" and "one of the most enduring anti-war novels of all time".

<i>Breakfast of Champions</i> 1973 American novel by Kurt Vonnegut

Breakfast of Champions, or Goodbye Blue Monday is a 1973 novel by the American author Kurt Vonnegut. His seventh novel, it is set predominantly in the fictional town of Midland City, Ohio, and focuses on two characters: Dwayne Hoover, a Midland resident, Pontiac dealer and affluent figure in the city, and Kilgore Trout, a widely published but mostly unknown science fiction author. Breakfast of Champions deals with themes of free will, suicide, and race relations, among others. The novel is full of drawings by the author, substituting descriptive language with depictions requiring no translation.

<i>Timequake</i> 1997 semi-autobiographical work by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Timequake is a 1997 semi-autobiographical work by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Marketed as a novel, the book was described as a "stew" by Vonnegut, in which he summarizes a novel he had been struggling with for a number of years.

Kilgore Trout is a fictional character created by author Kurt Vonnegut. Trout is a notably unsuccessful author of paperback science fiction novels.

<i>Jailbird</i> (novel) 1979 novel by Kurt Vonnegut

Jailbird is a novel by Kurt Vonnegut, published in 1979. The book is regarded as Kurt Vonnegut's "Watergate novel."

<i>The Recruit</i> (film) 2003 film by Roger Donaldson

The Recruit is a 2003 American spy thriller film, directed by Roger Donaldson, and starring Al Pacino, Colin Farrell and Bridget Moynahan. It was produced by Spyglass Entertainment in association with Epsilon Motion Pictures and Place Productions, and released by Touchstone Pictures through Buena Vista Pictures Distribution on January 31, 2003, receiving mixed reviews from critics and grossing $101 million worldwide.

Eliot Rosewater is a recurring character in the novels of American author Kurt Vonnegut. He appears throughout various novels as an alcoholic, and a philanthropist who claims to be a volunteer fireman. He runs the Rosewater Foundation, an organization created to keep the family's money in the family. He is among the few fans of the novels of Kilgore Trout.

<i>Deadeye Dick</i> 1982 novel by Kurt Vonnegut

Deadeye Dick is a novel by Kurt Vonnegut originally published in 1982.

Robert B. Weide is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. He has directed a number of documentaries and was the principal director and an executive producer of Curb Your Enthusiasm for the show's first five years. His documentaries have focused on four comedians: W. C. Fields, Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce, and Woody Allen. His latest documentary, Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time (2021), explores the life and works of Kurt Vonnegut.

<i>Faithful</i> (1996 film) 1996 American film

Faithful is a 1996 American comedy crime drama film directed by Paul Mazursky and starring Cher, Chazz Palminteri and Ryan O'Neal. Palminteri wrote the screenplay, which is an adaptation of his stage play of the same name. Faithful tells the story of a woman, her husband and a hit man. The film was entered into the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. This is Mazursky's final theatrical film as director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Rudolph</span> American film director and screenwriter

Alan Steven Rudolph is an American film director and screenwriter.

<i>Calendar Girl</i> (1993 film) 1993 film by John Whitesell

Calendar Girl is a 1993 American comedy-drama film starring Jason Priestley, Gabriel Olds, and Jerry O'Connell. The film was directed by John Whitesell and written by Paul W. Shapiro. Set in 1962, it tells the story of three young men who go on a trip to Hollywood to fulfill their dream of meeting Marilyn Monroe. It has similarities to the real-life story of Gene Scanlon, who in 1953 crossed America with a friend and had a date with Marilyn Monroe for which she paid the bill.

<i>Bluebeard</i> (2009 film) 2009 French film

Bluebeard is a 2009 French drama fantasy film written and directed by Catherine Breillat and starring Lola Créton. It is based on the classic fairy tale Bluebeard, by Charles Perrault.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilgore (band)</span> American metal band

Kilgore is an American heavy metal band formed in Providence, Rhode Island in 1991. The band is named after the character Kilgore Trout in the Kurt Vonnegut classic Breakfast of Champions. Through a number of band name and line-up changes, Kilgore released two albums, Blue Collar Solitude (1995) and A Search for Reason (1998). The band landed a slot on the 1998 Ozzfest. They followed with a 1998 national tour with Slayer and Fear Factory and a 1998 European tour with Fear Factory and Spineshank.

<i>Wadd: The Life & Times of John C. Holmes</i> 1998 American film

Wadd: The Life & Times of John C. Holmes is a 1998 documentary about adult film icon John C. Holmes produced and directed by Cass Paley. It was the winner of Best Feature Documentary at the 1999 South by Southwest Film Festival held annually in Austin, Texas.

<i>Cosmopolis</i> (film) 2012 film

Cosmopolis is a 2012 drama film written, produced, and directed by David Cronenberg. It stars Robert Pattinson, Paul Giamatti, Samantha Morton, Sarah Gadon, Mathieu Amalric, Juliette Binoche, Jay Baruchel and Kevin Durand. It is based on Don DeLillo's 2003 novel.

<i>The Devil and Father Amorth</i> 2017 American film

The Devil and Father Amorth is a 2017 American pseudo-documentary horror film directed by William Friedkin showing the ninth exorcism of an Italian woman in the village of Alatri referred to as "Cristina", this time performed by Father Gabriele Amorth.

<i>What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael</i> 2018 biographical documentary film by Rob Garver

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael is a 2018 American biographical documentary film about the life and work of the controversial New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael. The film was directed, produced and edited by Rob Garver, and features Sarah Jessica Parker as the voice of Pauline, and over 30 participants, including Quentin Tarantino, David O. Russell, Paul Schrader and Kael's only child, Gina James. Oscar-winning producer Glen Zipper (Undefeated) also served as a producer for the film.

<i>Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time</i> American documentary

Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time is a 2021 American documentary film, directed by Robert B. Weide.

References

  1. ↑ "Breakfast Of Champions (1998)". BBFC . Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Breakfast of Champions". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  3. ↑ "Berlinale: 1999 Programme". Berlinale.de. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  4. ↑ "Breakfast of Champions makes an impression". EW.com . May 29, 1998. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "It's a decade since Twin Falls' last picture show". Magicvalley.com. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Breakfast of Champions". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  7. ↑ Holden, Stephen (September 17, 1999). "The Affluent Society? Welcome to the Fun House". The New York Times . Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  8. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (September 24, 1999). "Breakfast of Champions". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on May 26, 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  9. ↑ Stack, Peter (December 10, 1999). "Way Too Much Ham in Overdone Breakfast". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  10. ↑ Lawrenson, Edward (September 2000). "Breakfast of Champions". Sight and Sound . Archived from the original on 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  11. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (September 17, 1999). "Breakfast of Champions". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  12. ↑ Taubin, Amy (September 21, 1999). "Sticky-Sweet Hereafters". Village Voice . Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  13. ↑ "Questionnaire (Luc Moulett)". Cahiers du cinéma . January 2000. Retrieved January 3, 2018– via Howling Wretches.
  14. ↑ Vonnegut, Jr., Kurt (2004). Breakfast of Champions (CD Unabridged ed.). HarperCollins. Archived from the original on November 18, 2007.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.