Saint John of Las Vegas (2009)
Average Rating: 4.2/10
Reviews Counted: 51
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 40
Writer-director Hue Rhodes' debut is a poorly-paced, forgettable comedy that wastes the quirky talents of stars Steve Buscemi and Sarah Silverman.
Average Rating: 3.9/10
Critic Reviews: 22
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 19
Writer-director Hue Rhodes' debut is a poorly-paced, forgettable comedy that wastes the quirky talents of stars Steve Buscemi and Sarah Silverman.
liked it
Average Rating: 2.8/5
User Ratings: 1,383
My Rating
Movie Info
A compulsive gambler attempts to cure his addiction by moving from Las Vegas to Albuquerque and working at an auto insurance company, only to find old temptations cropping up once again when he's sent out to investigate a dubious car accident just outside of Sin City. After a string of bad luck at the tables, John (Steve Buscemi) decides to give up gambling and take a shot at a "normal" life. Arriving in Albuquerque and landing a job at an auto insurance company, John goes to work for Mr.
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Cast
-
Steve Buscemi
John -
Romany Malco
Virgil -
Peter Dinklage
Mr. Townsend -
Sarah Silverman
Jill -
Emmanuelle Chriqui
Tasty D Lite -
John Cho
Smitty -
Tim Blake Nelson
Militant Ned -
Jesse Garcia
Park Ranger -
Matthew McDuffie
Lucyfer -
Isabel Archuleta
Vegas Counter Girl -
Aviva
Albuquerque Counter Gir... -
Ben Zeller
Truck Stop Owner -
Shawn Prince
Ticket Taker (K) -
Danny Trejo
Bismarck -
Stephen Eiland
Mordecai -
Josh Berry
Manager -
Jimmy "G" Geisler
Barker -
Isaac Kappy
Geek -
Gorneth D'Oyley
Dealer -
Ernest Labreck
Ed McMahon Type
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Saint John of Las Vegas Trailer & Photos
All Critics (51) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (41) | DVD (1)
Comic casting and comic timing pay off in most scenes, with Dinklage landing the big laughs, Malco doing his wise-guy-talking-down-to-the-doofus patter and Buscemi just bugging out and reacting to the craziness.
Top CriticIt's a kind of cinematic purgatory, halfway between eternal reward and eternal damnation. The question is: What did I do to deserve such mediocrity?
Saint John of Las Vegas was a bad script that somehow got made into a bad movie with good people in it.
For all its clever quirkiness, the end product seems flat and over-thought, which isn't to say it's a bad first step for this ambitious novice director, just a long way from something that will set the world on fire.
This debut feature by Hue Rhodes offers a wealth of skilled players and admirably offbeat gags yet seldom manages to generate any laughs.
It's minor, but I enjoyed it, largely because of the people on-screen, but also for the sneaky sincerity of writer-director Hue Rhodes' chronicle of one compulsive gambler's slouch toward redemption.
The performances are strong--even the minor characters--and the atmosphere and tone are spot-on for a dark comedy.
Buscemi playing Buscemi is still entertaining, even after all these years.
You can take a gambler out of Las Vegas, but you can't take Las Vegas out of a gambler.
good for a quick laugh, but ultimately an empty gesture.
... slightly less than the sum of its parts ...
Don't get me wrong. I loved Buscemi's low-key performance. But I'm less crazy about the movie, which is sometimes oddly timed and funny and sometimes just plain flat.
Trying desperately to be hip and cool, 'Saint John of Las Vegas' is fey and flimsy instead.
The script is both overly simple and unnecessarily complex. As we wander west without tension or purpose across an airless desert, the trip isn't all that enjoyable. For God's sake, are we there yet?
With a scattershot plot, one's attention may focus more acutely on the characterizations, adeptly handled by very skilled, principal actors.
Buscemi delivers game and spry and pleasurable work, but writer-director Hue Rhodes drops him into a mess of a film and lets him dangle helpless and alone.
It's a black comedy with a few exceptional scenes, but never gels together convincingly, making the artistic swing for the fences more of a quiet disappointment than a captivating leap of faith.
Theoretically, Saint John of Vegas may look good from a distance, but when seen up close it's only a house of cards.
Audience Reviews for Saint John of Las Vegas
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- John: If my luck comes back, it would be foolish not to be ready for it.
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- John: I used to have lots of luck. The bad part was none of it was good.
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The story concerns a compulsive gambler named John who tries to rid himself of his addiction by moving from Las Vegas to Albuquerque. He finds work at an auto insurance company, and finds potential romance with a smiley faced obsessed co-worker named Jill, but his old temptations make a comeback when he gets sent out to investigate a dubious car accident on the outskirts of Sin City. Along the way, John and his co-worker Virgil, and experienced fraud investigator, meet a series of colorful characters who, in their own way, help John try to fight off his demons for good.
I should love this movie. It's Buscemi headlining a quirky indie that's populated by odd characters played by a host of fun character actors. I mean, we get Tim Blake Nelson as a nude militant, John Cho as a 'human torch' performer at a carnival, Emanuelle Chriqui as a paraplegic stripper, Romany Malco as Virgil, and Sarah Silverman as Jill, so how could this fail? Oh yeah, there's also Peter Dinklage as John's boss, and Danny Trejo and Aviva (Nikola from Superbad) making cameos as well.
Here's how it falls short: there's no real story here. It's aimless, half-baked, and lazy. The situations make for a good set up, but the direction is lackluster, inept, and severely lacking. It doesn't do enough with the concept to really make it worth it. Plus, the shots and composition are pretty half-assed, ruining the potential for more humor and cleverness.
I'd rate it lower, but Buscemi does elevate it some. It's pointless, but somehow not boring. I can't explain that. Maybe I'd like it more if it really did come out back in the 90s. At least then I'd be able to excuse it for cashing in on the zeitgeist. Since it's from 2009, I unfortunately can't be as forgiving.