So I broke open that Wes Anderson box set and pulled out his first movie, which I’d never seen. It stars Luke and Owen Wilson (playing friends, not brothers), and it’s basically this story about a couple of losers going through their life together.

Luke is an amiable fellow who seems to have difficulty figuring out what he wants out of life (as we meet him, he’s checking out of a psychiatric care facility that he checked himself into for, it eventually comes out, basically anomie). Owen has a 25-year plan to become a master criminal, which is absurdly detached from reality.

Anyway, Owen needs a gang, and Luke needs a purpose, and so — despite clearly knowing that these plans are stupid and not even really wanting to do any crime — he joins up. Hijinks ensue, and the central tension of the movie is whether Luke can get out of Owen’s orbit with the potential for a good life, and what that would do to Owen if he did. Think Shaun of the Dead minus the zombies.

Stylistically, this is a Wes Anderson movie, but it’s not a Wes Anderson Movie. It’s not 100% naturalistic or anything, but it’s seemingly wholly unrelated to the hyper-stylized sterility of his later movies: If you didn’t know it was Wes Anderson, you wouldn’t know it was Wes Anderson. I’m actually curious now to watch through his movies as they go to see how his style develops. I remember Rushmore being a lot more like this and The Royal Tenenbaums being more stylized, but don’t exactly trust my ancient memories on this.

Anyway, good movie. It’s not mind-blowing or anything, but as a debut feature from a new director, it’s remarkably assured and impressive. This kid might amount to something.