Saint John of Las Vegas (2010)

Very, very loosely based on the work of Dante Alighieri, this is a quirky and offbeat indie road movie that would have been right at home circa 1994. 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.

"Getting Lucky is a Roll of the Dice" I was intrigues by this movie because it had Steve Buscemi in the leading role and Romany Malco, who I really liked in Weeds. The movie could never really pull itself together though. I really have no idea what this movie was trying to accomplish or what it was trying to be. Saint John of Las Vegas had some pretty bizarre scenes that were okay like the discussion with a carnival performer who kept bursting into flames. After a couple of scenes though, everything else are just throw away scenes that don't work. Buscemi and Malco weren't bad, they just had nothing to work with. Silverman was her usual annoying self. I dont see how anyone can like her. She isn't funny at all.  It seems to me like the writer and director was trying to be too original. The premise could have been cool had it actually turned into a real movie, but it never does.  I was really hoping to like this. I always like to enjoy an Independent film that nobody else likes or has seen. This one just can't be enjoyed though; too bad.