Breakfast of Champions

Amazon.com

Director Alan Rudolph's adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's novel Breakfast of Champions centers on suicidal car dealer Dwayne Hoover (Bruce Willis), his drug- and television-addled wife Celia (Barbara Hershey), his cross-dressing sales manager Harry (Nick Nolte), his dim secretary and mistress Francine (Glenne Headly), and Vonnegut's alter ego of sorts, pulp writer Kilgore Trout (Albert Finney). Dwayne is desperate for meaning in his life and starts to believe that Trout, who has been invited to the town's impending arts festival, will be able to tell him some truth he's never heard before. The EPA is investigating toxic sludge under property Dwayne owns, Celia is losing her already fragile grip on reality, Harry is growing increasingly paranoid that Dwayne knows about his private habits, and Francine is impatient with Dwayne's increasingly erratic behavior. Meanwhile, Kilgore Trout grouses about his failures and finally decides to attend the arts festival as a final act of self-humiliation. On top of all this, there are four or five other characters, all eccentric to the point of overload. It's difficult to get a fix on what the movie wants to be about, but Glenne Headly makes her character an island of sympathy in the ocean of everyone else's self-absorption, and Albert Finney creates some poignant moments as Trout is confronted by people who either scorn or worship his stories without any attempt to understand them. Featuring a cameo by Vonnegut. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Superstar Bruce Willis (THE SIXTH SENSE) stars in this critically acclaimed, offbeat comedy about a man who's having a hard time getting a grip on his life! A millionaire car salesman who runs the biggest dealership in Midland City, Dwayne Hoover (Willis) is a celebrity, loved and trusted by everyone. Then one day, he wakes up and realizes that his life is a total mess! But between the headaches posed by his pill-popping wife (Barbara Hershey -- FALLING DOWN), a mistress (Glenne Headly -- MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS) who won't leave him alone, and a cross-dressing sales manager (Nick Nolte -- THE THIN RED LINE), Dwayne has picked a bad week for a midlife crisis! Based on the best-selling novel by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., this hilarious comedy and its incredible all-star cast will keep you laughing as Dwayne tries to keep from losing his mind!

Customer Reviews:

Another of my favourite S.F. author.......2007-07-08

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.

It is what it is.......2007-04-17

I totally agree with those of you who are upset over the fact that this is not a "true" adaptation of Vonnegut's novel.
When I first watched this movie I was expecting something a little truer to the original story, but once it started I realized that was not in the cards. So, I decided to turn my brain off and take this movie for what it is, entertainment. I have gone back and watched it since then, and still find it an enjoyable bit of fluff.
I thought Willis did a wonderful job portraying a man who is losing his mind. Albert Finney was a very admirable Kilgore Trout, and Nick Nolte stole the show with his portrayal of Henry Le Sabre.
I have read all of Vonnegut's wonderful novels, and am very pleased whenever someone decides to adapt one into film. Many fans may not be pleased with this particular piece, and in response to that I would refer them to Slaughterhouse-Five, and Mother Night. As for this flick goes, watch it for the drawings.

Why all the hate?.......2007-03-17

I've read the book and seen the movie. Don't really understand all the hate for this movie. Is it as good as the book? It certainly is not but it's good for what it is and that's an oddball movie. If you enjoy weirder slices of cinema then i think you could very well enjoy this movie. If you are a Vonnegut nut looking for the best book to movie adaptation ever made then be sure to look elsewhere.....

Don't Even Trip.......2006-05-20

This is a great adaptation. Just finished reading this book, and I watched the movie before hand. To all those out there: STOP SEEING MOVIES AND EXPECTING EXACT TRANSLATIONS. If you want to read a book and see a movie, remember this tagline: The screenwriter of this movie was a screenwriting machine not a book writing machine. The book writing machine did a great job that some other reading machines hate, while the screenwriting machine did its job great, and so on. Listen: The essence was there the whole time, and yes it touched me deeply, however of course it did because I'm the only one with free will from the Creator. Okay, get it? Calm down, stop gritting your teeth while watching this movie and go watch Garbage Pail Kids and see what could happen with a movie in the worst case scenario. Ghastly!!!

Painful to Watch.......2005-09-05

I like Vonnegut enough to have a desire to see this movie, after all the book was pretty good and one of my favorites by Vonnegut. This movie flat out stinks. Vonnegut's books just don't translate over to the Big Screen very well and this movie is no exception. I suggest you read the book, but pass on the movie - in fact avoid it all cost.

Average customer rating:

Breakfast of Champions [Region 2]
Starring: Bruce Willis , Albert Finney , Nick Nolte , Barbara Hershey , and Glenne Headly
Director: Alan Rudolph
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004VYCR

DVD:

DVD

DVD