Rating: (1 of 4)

I enjoy Kurt Vonnegut's writing immensely.  I haven't read much of his work yet, Breakfast of Champions included, but what I have read, I've liked.  I decided to see and to review Breakfast of Champions, the 1999 film adaptation, because I'm sure I'll eventually read the book and I believe it's better to read the book after you see the movie.  That way, you can judge the movie for what it is rather than how it's different from what you imagined.

But despite the fact that I tried to give Breakfast a fair chance, I have to say that it was a disappointment.  While it's easy to understand how Vonnegut's storytelling style could present a particularly difficult challenge for any filmmaker, the direction of this film is just plain sloppy and unskilled.  The performances given by the cast are difficult to read; everyone just seems to be totally crazy, and there's no way to identify with any of them, feel empathy for them, or even like them, really.  In fact, I had a difficult time even finishing the movie. It made me want to just read the book instead.

For all its faults, though, Breakfast of Champions is perhaps not a total loss.  It's classified as a comedy, and it did indeed make me laugh a few times. And although the director didn't seem to know what he was doing or how to capture the spirit of one of Vonnegut's novels, I got the sense that this movie is probably pretty faithful to the book as far as story and dialog go.  There are numerous lines that are unquestionable Vonnegutian, most of which belong to Kilgore Trout.  It is a pity that this movie was just so unbelievably...  bleh.

By the way, next edition, I'll try to return to reviewing good movies.  It doesn't seem to make sense for me to pick through old, forgotten, neglected movies, bring them to your attention, and then tell you you shouldn't bother seeing them after all.

Overall, this big-screen adaptation of Breakfast of Champions really isn't worth the money and time required to rent and watch it, unless perhaps you have bad taste in movies or you enjoy pain.  Just go read the book!

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