Breakfast of Champions *** (1999, Bruce Willis, Barbara Hershey, Albert Finney, Nick Nolte, Glenne Headly, Lukas Haas, Omar Epps) – Classic Movie Review 5577

Bruce Willis stars as Dwayne Hoover, a wealthy but unstable car dealership owner and father who is on the brink of suicide because his TV-addict wife Celia (Barbara Hershey) and dog hate him, in this interesting satire on small-town America.

Writer-director Alan Rudolph’s 1999 movie of Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s weird book is ambitious and brightly realised, though patchy. But it has enough lively performances and striking moments to be engrossing overall.

It is good to see Willis putting his image on hold and stretching his acting muscles, and he is heading up a culty, must-see cast of old reliable star actors, including Albert Finney, Nick Nolte, Glenne Headly, Lukas Haas, and Omar Epps.

Also in the cast are Vicki Lewis, Buck Henry, Ken Hudson Campbell, Jake Johannsen, Will Patton, Chip Zien, Owen Wilson, Alison Eastwood, Shawnee Smith, Michael Jae White, Keith Joe Dick, Diane Dick, Michael Clarke Duncan, Tom Robbins, Tisha Sterling, Raymond O’Connor and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Willis and Headly were both in Rudolph’s Mortal Thoughts (1991).

It is R rated for sexuality and language.

RIP Glenne Headly (1955–2017).

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5577

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