Bottle Rocket - Region 2

Because this movie is so relentlessly deadpan, you really have to be dialled in to its brand of humour--but you're once there, Bottle Rocket shoots off plenty of sparks. Above all, Owen Wilson's portrayal of Dignan is a terrifically original comic creation; Dignan is so sincerely focused on his goals that he can't see how completely absurd his ideas are. Owen Wilson, who has since made something of a trademark out of similarly knuckle-headed performances in everything from Armageddon to Starsky & Hutch, wrote the screenplay with director Wes Anderson. --Robert Horton