Delirious

Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy  |  Drama

Written by: Tom DiCillo

Directed by: Tom DiCillo

Release Date:
Theatrical: August 15, 2007
DVD: May 6, 2008

Running Time: 107 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

Starring Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Alison Lohman, and David Wain

Small time celebrity photographer Les Galantine has a big mouth and big dreams, but he can’t quite talk himself into the right parties to get that one great exclusive photo. He meets Toby, a homeless kid who is drawn to the bright lights of New York City and “hires” him as his assistant. Les pays Toby nothing but room and board but the two are drawn to each other and become friends. Although Toby enjoys the glamor and excitement of Les’ lifestyle he has dreams of his own; to become an actor. Luck intervenes for Toby when he accidentally meets K’Harma Leeds, a beautiful pop diva. As their unlikely love blossoms Toby finds himself torn between a chance to follow his dream and to fulfill his obligation to Les. This conflict deepens when Toby leaves Les and lands a part on a Reality Show, partly by sleeping with the show’s casting director Dana. As Toby’s fortunes continue to rise, Les tries to reach out, while also maintaining a bitter resentment toward his former protégé… (Peace Arch Releasing)

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What The Critics Said

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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Chad S. gave it a9:
Who makes you delirious? Fiona Apple makes me delirious. Boys have crushes on pop stars too, just like Lucie(Islid LeBesco) in Emmanuelle Bercot's "Backstage", a French film from 2006 about a fan's obsession with female pop star Lauren Waks(Emmanuelle Seigner), a diva, just like K'Harma Leeds(Alison Lohman), whom Toby Grace(Michael Pitt) is besotted with. Rather than be a gopher, this former-photographer's assistant becomes K'harma's boyfriend, and the star of a reality-TV show that makes being homeless the next chic thing. "Delirious" is a very smart and funny film about how the paparazzi needs the stars, and the stars need the paparazzi. What's surprising about "Delirious" is that the film sides with Les Galantine(Steve Buscemi) rather than the stars, who are portrayed here as vapid, egocentric(with the exception of K'Harma, who is both, vapid and egocentric, but disarmingly sweet) twits. Even Elvis Costello(playing himself) is a twit. He wants to write a musical based on the life of Britney Spears for K'Harma(this is a thinly-veiled reference to Costello's work with Wendy James(ex-Transvision Vamp), whom he wrote an entire album for(1993's "Now Ain't the Time For Your Tears"). When Les meets the man who wrote "Allison" at a party, he goes into the bathroom to wash his hands. Les comes clean. The bathroom becomes the honesty room. Mirror time. The mirror doesn't lie. He's not a "licensed professional", after all; he's a paparazzi, just like all the rest. Without any pretenses, when Les points his camera at a subject, he uses it as a weapon. He will use it again.

Jay H. gave it a6:
6.5/10. Very good story, the characters have depth and the performances are silid and well done, especially Steve Buscemi. fine writing and direction, very entertaining.

Christine F. gave it a9:
I really enjoyed “Delirious”. While I read one person categorize the film as a “comedy”, I think it was more of a drama with little bits of comedy thrown in to the mix. It stars Steve Buscemi, Alison Lohman, Michael Pitt and Gina Gershon. While Steve Buscemi does a lot of work with writer/director Tom DiCillio, I was most surprised to see Gina Gershon in the film. She is very pretty, played her role very well and has gained a lot of notoriety as of late for her appearances on shows like “Rescue Me” and “Psyche”. The film explores Les’ (Steve Buscemi) life and career as a paparazzi member. I thought this was interesting on its own because of the premise. Too often in films, members of the paparazzi are simply there, like wallpaper, around celebrities. I liked that this film was looking at a normal guy in the paparazzi. Throughout the film, Les becomes friends with Toby (Michael Pitt) who works as Les’ assistant in exchange for a place to stay (or a closet to stay in). Toby is homeless and looking to make it as an actor. He gets his chance when he meets and falls in love with K’harma (this gets him on tv initially) and meets with Gina Gershon’s casting director character. I thought there were a lot of love complications going on and that this was powerful on its own, but not nearly as compelling as what drove Les, how he viewed himself, etc. Overall, the movie was well done. The acting was fairly strong and I thought the film was thought provoking.

DWilly gave it an8:
Very cool. Fllawed around the edges, but the huge talent of this Michael Pitt kid and Alison Lohman crush some big-time moments. Steve Buscemi will be overrated because his casting is so good, and he does occaisionally succeed in rising above his usual, bit player schtick, but, like Gina Gershon, he's not in the same league as these two youngsters. Unusual and authentic filmmaking.