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. The film starred Bruce Willis, Albert Finney, Nick Nolte, Barbara Hershey, Glenne Headly, Lukas Haas and Omar Epps. Though the producers entered it into the 49th Berlin International Film Festival, [3] critics negatively received the film and was a box office bomb that was withdrawn from theatres before going into wide release.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

Filmmaker Ron Mann, under his company Films We Like, subsequently acquired rights to the film from Willis, partnering with Shout! Studios in the United States to theatrically release a 4K restoration on November 1, 2024. [4] [5] [6]

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. [7] Vonnegut makes a one-line cameo as a TV commercial director. [8]

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 27% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 49 reviews, with an average score of 4.6/10. The consensus states: "The movie is overwhelmed by its chaotic visual effects and disjointed storyline." [9] 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." [10] 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." [11]

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." [12] Sight and Sound magazine's Edward Lawrenson wrote "Willis' performance, all madness, no method, soon feels embarrassingly indulgent." [13] 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." [14]

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." [15] The French filmmaker and critic Luc Moullet, on the other hand, regarded it as one of the great films of the 1990s. [16]

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." [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

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

Kurt Vonnegut was an American author known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfiction works over fifty-plus years; further works have been published since his death.

<i>The Thin Red Line</i> (1998 film) 1998 film by Terrence Malick

The Thin Red Line is a 1998 American epic war film written and directed by Terrence Malick. It is the second film adaptation of the 1962 novel by James Jones, following the 1964 film. Telling a fictionalized version of the Battle of Mount Austen, which was part of the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Pacific Theater of the Second World War, it portrays U.S. soldiers of C Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, played by Sean Penn, Jim Caviezel, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas, and Ben Chaplin. The novel's title alludes to a line from Rudyard Kipling's poem "Tommy", from Barrack-Room Ballads, in which he calls Scottish foot soldiers "the thin red line of heroes", referring to the stand of the 93rd Regiment in the Battle of Balaclava of the Crimean War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwayne Johnson</span> American actor and wrestler (born 1972)

Dwayne Douglas Johnson, also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor, professional wrestler, and businessman. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Johnson was integral to the development and success of the World Wrestling Federation during the Attitude Era. He wrestled for the WWF full-time for eight years before pursuing an acting career. His films have grossed over $3.5 billion in North America and over $12.5 billion worldwide, making him one of the world's highest-grossing and highest-paid actors. He is a co-owner of the United Football League, a member of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings—the parent company of UFC and WWE—and co-founder of Seven Bucks Productions.

<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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincent Gallo</span> American actor, filmmaker and musician (born 1961)

Vincent Gallo is an American actor, filmmaker, and musician. He has won several accolades, including a Volpi Cup for Best Actor, and has been nominated for numerous more, including the Palme d'Or, the Golden Lion, and the Bronze Horse.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Gleason</span> American actor (1939–2006)

Paul Xavier Gleason was an American film and television actor. He was known for his roles on television series such as All My Children and films such as The Breakfast Club, Trading Places, and Die Hard.

Kilgore Trout is a fictional character created by author Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007). Trout is a notably unsuccessful author of paperback science fiction novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lukas Haas</span> American actor

Lukas Daniel Haas is an American actor and musician. His acting career has spanned four decades, during which he has appeared in more than 50 feature films and a number of television shows and stage productions. His notable credits include in the films Witness (1985), Mars Attacks! (1996), Inception (2010), The Revenant (2015) and First Man (2018).

<i>Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer</i> (TV special) 1964 Christmas TV special

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a 1964 stop motion Christmas animated television special produced by Videocraft International, Ltd. It first aired December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the United States and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour. The special was based on the 1949 Johnny Marks song "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" which was itself based on the poem of the same name written in 1939 by Marks's brother-in-law, Robert L. May. The concept was developed in New York City, the animation was done in Japan, the music was recorded in England, and most of the voice actors were from Canada. The production was completed in 18 months.

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

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumer Willis</span> American actress (born 1988)

Rumer Glenn Willis is an American actress. The eldest daughter of actors Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, she made her acting debut opposite her mother in the coming-of-age drama Now and Then (1995). She subsequently appeared in films such as Striptease (1996), Hostage (2005), The House Bunny (2008), Sorority Row (2009), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). She portrayed Gia Mannetti on The CW teen drama series 90210 (2009–2010) and Tory Ash on the FOX musical drama series Empire (2017–2018). Willis won season 20 of the ABC dance competition television series Dancing with the Stars, and made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago on September 21, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenne Headly</span> American actress (1955–2017)

Glenne Aimee Headly was an American actress. She was widely known for her roles in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Dick Tracy, and Mr. Holland's Opus. Headly received a Theatre World Award and four Joseph Jefferson Awards and was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards.

<i>Leap of Faith</i> (film) 1992 film by Richard Pearce

Leap of Faith is a 1992 American comedy-drama film directed by Richard Pearce and starring Steve Martin, Debra Winger, Lolita Davidovich, Liam Neeson, and Lukas Haas. The film is about Jonas Nightengale, a Christian faith healer who uses his revival meetings to milk money out of the inhabitants of Rustwater, Kansas.

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

Boys is a 1996 American film starring Winona Ryder and Lukas Haas. It is based very loosely on a short story called "Twenty Minutes" by James Salter.

<i>Mortal Thoughts</i> 1991 film by Alan Rudolph

Mortal Thoughts is a 1991 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Alan Rudolph and starring Demi Moore, Glenne Headly, Bruce Willis, John Pankow, and Harvey Keitel. Told in narrative flashbacks set in a police interrogation, the film centers on a woman implicated in the violent murder of her friend's abusive, drug-addicted husband. Its title is derived from a quote in William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Taubin</span> American author and film critic

Amy Taubin is an American author and film critic. She is a contributing editor for two prominent film magazines, the British Sight & Sound and the American Film Comment. She has also written regularly for the SoHo Weekly News, The Village Voice, The Millennium Film Journal, and Artforum, and used to be curator of video and film at the non-profit experimental performance space The Kitchen.

<i>Midnight in the Switchgrass</i> 2021 crime thriller film by Randall Emmett

Midnight in the Switchgrass is a 2021 American crime thriller film directed by Randall Emmett in his directorial debut from a screenplay by Alan Horsnail. It stars Megan Fox, Bruce Willis, Emile Hirsch, Lukas Haas, Colson Baker and Lydia Hull.

Hoover is the Anglicized version of the German and Dutch surname Huber, originally designating a landowner or a prosperous small farmer. Notable people with the surname include:

References

  1. "Breakfast Of Champions (1998)". BBFC . Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Breakfast of Champions". Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  3. "Berlinale: 1999 Programme". Berlinale.de. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  4. Hemphill, Jim (2024-10-29). "25 Years Later, One of Bruce Willis' Best Movies Gets the Release It Deserves". IndieWire. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
  5. "Breakfast of Champions (4K Restoration)". Films We Like. 2024-11-07. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
  6. Sobzynscki, Peter (2024-10-30). "Breakfast Is Served—Again: Alan Rudolph on the reissue of "Breakfast of Champions"". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
  7. "Breakfast of Champions makes an impression". EW.com . May 29, 1998. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  8. "It's a decade since Twin Falls' last picture show". Magicvalley.com. 2 June 2008. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  9. "Breakfast of Champions". Rotten Tomatoes . Archived from the original on 2024-09-26. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  10. Holden, Stephen (September 17, 1999). "The Affluent Society? Welcome to the Fun House". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2002-02-22. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  11. Gleiberman, Owen (September 24, 1999). "Breakfast of Champions". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on May 26, 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  12. Stack, Peter (December 10, 1999). "Way Too Much Ham in Overdone Breakfast". San Francisco Chronicle . Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  13. Lawrenson, Edward (September 2000). "Breakfast of Champions". Sight and Sound . Archived from the original on 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  14. Thomas, Kevin (September 17, 1999). "Breakfast of Champions". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  15. Taubin, Amy (September 21, 1999). "Sticky-Sweet Hereafters". Village Voice . Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  16. "Questionnaire (Luc Moulett)". Cahiers du cinéma . January 2000. Archived from the original on November 4, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2018 via Howling Wretches.
  17. Vonnegut, Jr., Kurt (2004). Breakfast of Champions (CD Unabridged ed.). HarperCollins. Archived from the original on November 18, 2007.