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Breakfast of Champions (1999)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:44
Fresh:11
Rotten:33
Average Rating:4.2/10
Consensus: The movie is overwhelmed by its chaotic visual effects and disjointed storyline.
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: 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... 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. [More]
Starring: Bruce Willis, Albert Finney, Glenne Headly, Omar Epps
Starring: Bruce Willis, Albert Finney, Glenne Headly, Omar Epps, Nick Nolte, Barbara Hershey, Lukas Haas, Buck Henry, Vicki Lewis
Director: Alan Rudolph
Director: Alan Rudolph
Screenwriter: Alan Rudolph
Story: Kurt Vonnegut
Producer: David Willis, David Blocker
Composer: Mark Isham
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Release:
Jun 27, 2000
Reviews for Breakfast of Champions
Another middle-aged male-crisis opus, it begins on a note of total migraine-inducing hysteria, which continues unabated throughout.
With so many satirical targets and such a mad, busy stage, getting through this shrill, tiresome film is another story altogether.
Rudolph's adaptation captures the spirit and chaos of his source material, and he does it with style and passion.
If you can stand the tumult, you may find yourself feeling giddy as you watch old pros like Nolte, Willis, Hershey and, especially, Finney play at such a high pitch.
Breakfast of Champions is so chaotic that after twenty minutes you can easily lose patience for its scattershot arrangement and redundant reproaches.
Rudolph's film, like most of his others, just isn't funny enough to sustain the lunacy.
Where the book succeeded with its slippery narrative, the film, without one coherent scene or line of dialogue to its credit, falls apart on arrival.
Rudolph's use of grotesque close-ups, boisterous parodies of inane TV fare and manic handling of his actors do nothing to enrich the message.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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