The Brown Bunny (2003)

Professional motorcycle racer Bud Clay heads from New Hampshire to California to race again. Along the way he meets various needy women who provide him with the cure to his own loneliness, but only a certain woman from his past will truly satisfy him.

Director:

Vincent Gallo

Writer:

Vincent Gallo

Stars:

Vincent Gallo, Chloë Sevigny, Cheryl Tiegs

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Vincent Gallo	...	Bud Clay
Chloë Sevigny	...	Daisy (as Chloe Sevigny)
Cheryl Tiegs	...	Lilly
Elizabeth Blake	...	Rose
Anna Vareschi	...	Violet
Mary Morasky	...	Mrs. Lemon
Jeffrey Wood	...	Featured Racer
Eric Wood	...	Featured Racer
Michael Martire	...	Featured Racer
Rick Doucette	...	Featured Racer
Jim Lester	...	Featured Racer
Michael Niksa	...	Featured Racer

Storyline

After racing in New Hampshire, the lonely motorcycle racer Bud Clay drives his van in a five-day journey to California for the next race. Along his trip, he meets fan, lonely women, prostitutes, but he leaves them since he is actually looking for the woman he loves, Daisy. He goes to her house and leaves a note telling where he is lodged. Out of the blue, Daisy appears in his hotel room and soon he learns why he cannot find her.

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Plot Keywords:

boyfriend girlfriend relationship | prostitute | female frontal nudity | erection | female nudity | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 2003 (Austria)

Also Known As:

A barna nyúl

Filming Locations:

Best Western Inn - 6141 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$50,601, 29 August 2004, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$365,734, 5 December 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gray Daisy Films, Kinetique, Vincent Gallo Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Roger Ebert first viewed the movie in May 2003, he stated that he thought it was the worst movie in the history of the Cannes Film Festival. In August 2004, after watching an edited-down, shorted version of the film, Ebert gave it a thumbs up on his show, stating its editing changed the film.

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Goofs

When Bud speaks to Daisy's mother, a glass on the table appears and then disappears between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Bud walks up to a young woman, working behind the counter in a gas station store]
Bud Clay: Hi.
Violet: Hello... Did you just come from the race track?
Bud Clay: Mmhm.
Violet: Did you win?
Bud Clay: No.
Violet: Oh.
Bud Clay: How much is this?
Violet: $2... Will you be racing again?
[...]

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Connections

Spoofed in Won Ton Baby! (2009)

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Soundtracks

Milk and Honey
Written and Performed by Jackson C. Frank
Courtesy of Sanctuary Records Group
Published by Maxwood Music, Ltd.

User Reviews

Worked for me.

I saw Buffalo 66 long before I started posting reviews at imdb, so I haven't written about that film but I loved it, I give it a 10, and after seeing The Brown Bunny at the Nuart on Saturday evening, I am here to report that I give Gallo's second feature film the same rating.

A lot of people seem to be misunderstanding this movie, or just not appreciating it, or perhaps both. There are many reasons for this, none of them valid in my estimation. The biggest protests, from what I've been reading, seem to be in the 'lack of plot' and 'vanity project' areas.

I can understand how the film would be a little slow for a lot of people, since it's basically an internal study, with none of the 'usual' mainstream (or even indy film) tactics. And in fact that's what I loved the most about the movie - how Gallo has the artistic wherewithal to be true to HIS vision of what a film can be, to how a plot of a film (and there IS a plot) can be played out in a different, less recognizable way, which leads to one of the reasons I think people are calling this a vanity project (aside from the infamous scene toward the end -- which I have to say is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to the film, once you find out what's really going on with our sick puppy Bud Clay) : because the movie doesn't follow a 'typical' set-up, requiring a bit more patience on the part of the viewer, a lot of people feel more comfortable dismissing this unbelievably profound piece of work as a 'vanity project'. In reality, I believe the opposite is true: Gallo is giving his audience more credit than they perhaps deserve, in presenting such a stark, uncompromising character study. The fact that a lot of this audience chooses not to accept him on his terms does not diminish his power and the power of this movie. Can't wait for the next one, Vincent.