Susan Granger’s review of “Delirious” (Peace Arch Films)
Aimed at a hip, sophisticated audience, this satiric fable from independent filmmaker Tom DiCillo (“Living in Oblivion,” “The Real Blonde”) reveals the soft, subversive underbelly of contemporary celebrity and glitzy fame. DiCillo wrote the leading role of the frustrated, insecure, self-absorbed paparazzo specifically for actor Steve Buscemi.
Living in oblivious squalor in New York, garrulous Les Galatine (Buscemi) befriends Toby (Michael Pitt), a hunky, good-natured aspiring actor whom he teaches the ‘stakeout’ ropes (“Im not paparazzi! I’m a licensed professional!”) and allows to crash in his shabby, lower East Side pad which doubles as office/living space.
At a Soap Stars Against STD Convention, Toby charms a sexy casting director (Gina Gershon) and launches an unlikely romance with a talentless teen sexpot named K’harma (Alison Lohman), who was ditched by her British boyfriend Jace (Richard Short). Surrounded by a couple of fawning assistants, K’harma is a wannabe singer who is famous for being famous – like Paris/Nichole/Lindsay crossed with Britney – even inveigling Elvis Costello to show up as one of her trendy party guests. While Les feeds at the freebie buffet trough, stashes away gift bags and tries – in vain – to connect with his parents (Doris Belack, Tom Aldredge) in New Jersey, Toby gets his big break photographing a reality show featuring a homeless serial killer.
DiCillo gleefully, yet surprisingly sympathetically, skewers the sycophantic entertainment press – from battling rival publicists to eccentric bottom-feeders. While young Michael Pitt (“Dawson’s Creek”) is disarming, Steve Buscemi delivers a career-defining performance – and they share the movie’s most memorable moments. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Delirious” is a hilariously shallow, sleazy 7. It’s one of those savvy, low-budget crowd-pleasers that arrive in local theaters only via film festivals like San Sebastian and Sundance.
