Breakfast of Champions (1999)

25% of critics liked it
(44 reviews)
31% of users liked it
(5,836 ratings)

In a small American town called Midland City, Dwayne Hoover (Bruce Willis) -- a loyal father, a successful car dealer, and a respected member of the community --lives with his wife Celia (Barbara Hershey), who's addicted to pills and TV shows, and his son Bunny (Lukas Haas), who is a weakling.… More In a small American town called Midland City, Dwayne Hoover (Bruce Willis) -- a loyal father, a successful car dealer, and a respected member of the community --lives with his wife Celia (Barbara Hershey), who's addicted to pills and TV shows, and his son Bunny (Lukas Haas), who is a weakling. What's more, his best friend and employee Harry Le Sabre (Nick Nolte) is a paranoid red-lace-lingerie fetishist. Dwayne finds short-term consolation in the arms of his secretary and mistress, Francine (Glenne Headley). As the American Dream slowly becomes his nightmare, Hoover begins to retreat into a fantasy world, filled with strange voices and fearful visions. It takes only the arrival of third-rate science-fiction writer Kilgore Trout (Albert Finney) -- whose novels are turned into fourth-rate porno comics -- at the Midland City Art Festival for things to explode. Hoover's only hope is Kilgore, whom he has raised to the status of a guru in his fantasies. However, the two men meet when time, space, and reality have already lost their meaning. Now it is only nonsense that makes sense and madness that reigns; the American dream has turned into lunacy. Breakfast of Champions, which had its world premiere during the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999, is the outcome of a project in the making for over twenty years. Director Alan Rudolph wrote the script when the novel by Kurt Vonnegut was first published. However, it took all this time (and perhaps the casting of someone like Bruce Willis in order to get it financed) for the project to be realized. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Alan Rudolph
Written By: Alan Rudolph
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Sep 17, 1999 Wide
On DVD: Jun 30, 2000
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures

Critic Reviews

Michael Atkinson, Mr. Showbiz
Breakfast of Champions is a spectacular failure.
Jay Carr, Boston Globe
A misfire.
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Unwatchable!
Stephen Holden, New York Times
The movie looks and feels like a frantic, live-action psychedelic cartoon.
Jonathan Foreman, New York Post
Tasteless adaptation makes for flaky Breakfast.
Robert Horton, Film.com
Breakfast of Champions is a weirdly stillborn experience.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Rudolph exagera ao transformar o filme em um delírio (in)digno de Terry Gilliams, mas o roteiro, sua mensagem e as atuações acabam equilibrando a balança.
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum
Adaptating a Vonnegut book isn't easy. This movie pulls it off (for the most part).
Scott Von Doviak, culturevulture.net
What could be funnier than Nick Nolte in a dress?

Read all 9 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

Not a bad movie but not a great adaptation of the fantastic book but still worth a look!
El Hombre I

WARNING: Any attempts at adapting the contents of this novel to the silver screen may be hazardous to your career. I move for a vote of No Confidence <a href="http://media.photobucket.com/image/thumbs%20down/disney_witch/td.jpg?o=61"… More
WARNING: Any attempts at adapting the contents of this novel to the silver screen may be hazardous to your career. I move for a vote of No Confidence <a href="http://media.photobucket.com/image/thumbs%20down/disney_witch/td.jpg?o=61" target="_blank"><img src="http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk2/disney_witch/td.jpg"></a>
Curtis L

Bruce Willis was fun in the movie, but I think his likability rapidly decreases when he thinks nothing matters anymore. Nick Nolte's cross dressing is annoying. Still, the film was entertaining.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic][color=darkgreen]"In Good Company" is a movie about a 51 year old sales executive named Dan Foreman(played by Dennis Quaid who is very good) who finds out almost simultaneously that his company has been swallowed up by a huge corporate conglomerate and… More
[font=Century Gothic][color=darkgreen]"In Good Company" is a movie about a 51 year old sales executive named Dan Foreman(played by Dennis Quaid who is very good) who finds out almost simultaneously that his company has been swallowed up by a huge corporate conglomerate and that his wife is expecting a baby. Adding to that, is his new boss, Carter Duryea(played by Topher Grace) who is young enough to be his son. The first time we see Duryea is when he is proposing a way of selling cell phones to five-year olds which cannot be a good thing. (We learn that Duryea never knew his father and is perhaps in desperate need of a father figure who could show him the ropes, like teaching him how to drive.) "In Good Company" has some funny moments and a good criticism of corporate culture even if it is not entirely successful. It also seems to say that it is alright for young adults to be given the freedom to spend some time to find their calling.[/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#006400][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=navy]Since last week's episode of Alias got me thinking of Kurt Vonnegut, I decided it was finally time to check out the movie version of one his novels - "Breakfast of Champions" which is a rather odd movie. It's about a suicidal car salesman played by Bruce Willis and a reclusive novelist played by Albert Finney. There's not a lot of plot to speak of, just people acting very, very strangely. And I was surprised to find that Nick Nolte has the legs to wear women's lingerie. [/color][/font]
FanGirl B

Quirky and slightly insane, an underapperciated film.