Delirious [DVD]

A curiously old fashioned rags to riches film. I kept expecting something diversive and edgy. It never arrived.

What a delight! Following in the wake of other indie sparklers like 'Living In Oblivion' (the same writer and director is responsible here too) from, Steve Buscemi is back in business as Les, a small-time paparazzi desperate to get his embarrassingly less-than professional snaps onto the covers of magazine shelves and into the papers. His ratty, sneery persona aren't especially endearing and someone as classy and often vulnerable like an actor like Steve is needed to keep you liking him. Things start to look up for him when fate puts a young homeless boy into his path-a sweet and pliant boy who's happy to have a bed (or rather broom cupboard) for the night! and will do anything the older man wishes and advises.

But when the young man Toby meets and falls for a burgeoning young pop singer, his infatuation and wish to be an actor himself threatens to turn an already fretting Les into a near homicidal nut-job desperate for fame at any length and price-and the sooner the better. And if that means teaching Toby how to 'stick with what you know or go' the hard way, Les will comply.

Fast paced, witty, dark but not mean-natured, this neatly plotted assault on the fame industry is another corker of a triumph for indie cinema. Buscemi is hiss-worthy but fun, Alison Lohman's turn as a piss-poor all fake-attitude Britney Spears clone (just watch the video to laugh-out-loud loser song 'Shove It') is right on the money and eerily current (so many female wannabees that could be) but the real wonderful surprise is gorgeous little Michael Pitt, who till now is either a cold-blooded murderous little psycho-kid with uncaring parents (Murder By Numbers or the more recent Funny Games US) or the desperate to be accepted cling-on to cold-blooded murderers or over-radical protestors (Bully,The Dreamers), this is the first time I've seen him play such a sweet-natured, polite and dignified little dude, just happy to survive on the streets another day despite the hard life fate has dealt him-even keeps dealing him as far moving off cold, unforgiving streets into an even more difficult situation with a crabby, desperate Les. But spare a thought for Les later-on a visit to his maddeningly hard-to-please parents, you can quite easily see why he could get so difficult, though one should start ignoring family wrongs at Les's age-if there unimpressed with you past your 40th birthday, they probably always will be! Gina Gershon also adds fun to the mix of this film.

I got this online cos it most unaccountably and infuriatingly disappeared off shop shelves within a moth of being released. Typical. I thought the disc had a glitch and the lot needed to be recalled but this lovely film played fine. My big gripe-film is perfect BUT NO BLOODY EXTRAS. In 1994, this was expected. In 2006 it's unforgiveable. But sadly, with Academy sucking melodramas featuring Kate Winslet and Angelina Jolie and lousy box-office comedies and fake horror films (even old overrated stuff) get the ongoing extras treatment all the time, indie world is one place clearly not made for it. But at least, this movie speaks for itself! And so do I. Have fun-it's a wild, cool ride!

Steve Buscemi is as good as ever, but felt that the director Tom DiCillo was not inspired. A workmanlike piece of film-making but the story is all so predictable. Nothing like the fabulous Living in Oblivion.