hyped garbage

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

After a coffee run, homeless hunk Michael Pitt (as Toby Grace) asks to crash with seedy celebrity photographer Steve Buscemi (as Les Galantine). After being assured the handsome blond youth is not gay, Mr. Buscemi allows him to move in, and fixes a bed for Mr. Pitt in the closet. Buscemi develops a big brother relationship with Pitt, who wants to be an actor. Pitt is attracted to scantily-clad pop star Alison Lohman (as K'Harma Leeds) and heats up casting director Gina Gershon (as Dana). "Maybe I can get you into something," she tells Pitt. When he gets his shot at fame, Pitt's relationship with Buscemi becomes strained...This starts out like it might be a modern "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), then wanders into "Star 80" (1983) territory. "Delirious" ends up being closer to a satire on celebrity. The thesis is never quite fronted, although director Tom DiCillo certainly does it with style. Buscemi contributes an engaging, manic characterization, suggestively managing to make the story seem like something greater. Everyone else is fine, with foul-mouthed parents Doris Belack (as Lois) and Tom Aldredge (as Carl) providing a veteran treat. The song selection and soundtrack are very strong. Stay tuned for a coda, appearing after the end credits.****** Delirious (9/26/06) Tom DiCillo ~ Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Alison Lohman, Gina Gershon

Recap: Les Galantine is a wannabe photographer that makes do by selling the odd picture as a paparazzi. One day his path crosses the one of Toby Grace, a homeless young man that tries to find his place in the world. Toby becomes Les' unpaid assistant, working for a place to sleep, food and with a dream to become an actor one day. But for now he follows Les around hunting for celebrity photos, and one day his eyes meet the eyes of young pop diva K'Harma. Without meeting they seem to have a connection, one that may put Toby's friendship with Les in jeopardy.Comments: Classified as Comedy/Drama Delirious is more drama than comedy. It's more about trust and friendship than jokes. It is a bit satirical about the paparazzi – celebrity symbiosis and provides a few odd scenes that makes you smile, but most it is almost a sad movie about how people can live in the middle of a great city and be so completely alone. Without any real connections to anybody else, without any real friends.Once again Steve Buscemi gives a stellar performance even if this is not his best. Buscemi is to me one of the most underrated actors out there. However it is a shame that his character in Delirious, Les Galantine, is a pretty sad one. Les is egoistic and has big problems with trusting anyone else and letting someone in close. His character is very much not especially funny. Unfortunately. Buscemi has the talent to give his character a much more comic aspect, but I don't think that that was the idea here.Pitt is also good as the naïve and confirmation seeking Toby. He has dreams but his humble situation makes him thankful for anything that comes his way. His journey is the longest and reaches from almost the deepest low to the highest point on the status ladder, and he has not always an easy time to handle that change. The conflicts that arise between him and Les is interesting.It is a good movie, especially if you don't expect a wacky one from the outset. Good cast and an interesting story. But in my opinion this is one that will soon become lost and forgotten in the sea of movies.6/10

I would have rated "Delirious" with 4 stars if this movie would have had another 2 leading actors because the plot of the movie is terrible.The performances of Steve Buscemi and Michael Pitt save the movie. The performances of these actors turn what could have been a boring movie in an entertaining one despite its extremely unreal and naive plot.The plot is about how a paparazzi (Steve Buscemi) and a young bum (Michael Pitt) become friends where the bum works for free for the paparazzi and in return he can sleep at the paparazzi's department, but things are going to change when the bum gets involve with a young woman pop star.

Tom DiCillo is a cool New York-based independent filmmaker, and he's made some good stuff in the past (most notably as DP for Jim Jarmusch, and as the director of sleepers like the great Living in Oblivion), and I wish him the best of luck on anything he does. But on Delirious, he only gets it right some of the time. He's out to, at first it seems, make a satire on media hype and celebrity and the inanities of shallow attention given to people who don't do much to deserve it (if you need proof of that, watch the Soup on E!). But then it goes a little in a different direction, which I respected and wanted to go along with, as a fable/fairy-tale where Toby (Michael Pitt) is just about the nicest, most generous and fish-out-of-dumpster homeless kid who somehow becomes an 'assistant' to fledgling photographer Les (Steve Buscemi), who shows him the ropes and introduces him to a casting director (Gina Gershon), and eventually- accidentally of course- falls into the company of a pop star (Alison Lohman) as the two all but fall in love on first sight.Good premise, and scenes between Buscemi and Pitt most often work the best, and funniest, as one sees subtle layers peeled by Les's pathetic paparazzi who just doesn't admit he's not ambitious enough to be marginalized as a photographer. There's even some good comedy thrown around, the kind that is that strange absurdity that we also saw in 'Oblivion'. But, somehow, it just didn't all click for me after a while. There's a very bitter pill being sent out in, often, very corny and ill-shot scenes (the latter of which I could accept, but for one brief instant, as Toby walks back to Les's place the morning after he's had that whirlwind night with Lohman, I was shocked at how cheesy a scene it turned into). The problem, also, is that it's difficult to mix such a delicate romantic/fable angle while also working in some mockery at the entertainment business. It's all in good amusement to see the "reality serial-killer" show being directed for "realism", but it all doesn't lead up to anything significant to say past some shallow messages.Maybe I didn't see what others have been; it's become a minor little hit with most, and I'm sure if you have any desire to see actors like Buscemi and Pitt and Lohman (who is also very good) and Gershon (and hey, there's even a really hip and hilarious cameo from Elvis Costello) you'll seek it out anyway. However, it's not the best, or least obvious, game in town despite its solid indie cred.