Details
Movie Description
Midland City madman Dwayne Hoover (Bruce Willis) has car commercials on every local channel and his smiling face beaming down from every billboard, but he's not smiling inside; his life is falling apart. Not only is he saddled with a pill-popping schizophrenic wife (Barbara Hershey), a glitter-covered lounge singer son named Bunny (Lukas Haas), and a paranoid, cross-dressing sales manager (Nick Nolte, in a hilarious performance), but it's Hawaiian week at the dealership, and everyone is acting extra-bizarre, especially Dwayne. Luckily, obscure science fiction novelist Kilgore Trout (Albert Finney) is coming to Midland City to preside over an art festival--and maybe save the day. His eyes wide open to the cosmic truths behind the horrors of existence, Trout might be the one man who can lead Hoover out of the hell of his own perceptions.
Based on the revered Kurt Vonnegut novel, this ultraweird film from director Alan Rudolph may alienate viewers in search of a conventional narrative, but those in the mood for a neopsychedelic trip through the American psyche should enjoy the ride. They'll also dig the great "exotica" score by lounge legend Martin Denny.
Synopsis
Based on the novel by Kurt Vonnegut, BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS is the story of Dwayne Hoover, a successful car dealer who happens to be losing his mind, and Kilgore Trout, a curmudgeonly science fiction writer who has lost faith in life. When the two encounter each other, things in Midland City will never be the same.
Film Notes
Theatrical release: September 17, 1999 (limited).
Shot on location in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. has a cameo as the director of one of Hoover's car commericials. His drawings also adorn the credits and Hoover's office.
Tom Robbins, author of STILL LIFE WITH WOODPECKER and EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES, appears in the film. The writer is friends with Vonnegut and writes in a similarly quirky and comical style. Robbins also makes cameos in Rudolph's MRS. PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE and MADE IN HEAVEN.
Cast members Bruce Willis, Will Patton, Owen Wilson, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Ken Hudson Campbell all appear in ARMAGEDDON.
Nick Nolte also stars in MOTHER NIGHT, another Vonnegut adaptation, directed by Keith Gordon. In addition, the actor appears in other Alan Rudolph films such as AFTERGLOW and TRIXIE.
Rudolph had previously directed Willis and Glenne Headly in MORTAL THOUGHTS.
Industry Reviews
"...Watching it is a little like taking a ride through a giant fun house..."
New York Times - Stephen Holden (09/17/1999)
"...This starry ensemble dazzles..."
Los Angeles Times - Kevin Thomas (09/17/1999)
Quotations
"Harry, what is important is what is, and you are the result of two million biological years, so don't blow it."--Grace LeSabre (Vicki Lewis) to husband Harry (Nick Nolte) in a phone pep talk
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