Delirious Movie Review

Tom DiCillo's Delirious is an energetic and hilarious rags-to-riches satire that questions the distance between those in front of the camera and those behind it in the luxurious world of the entertainment industry.

The film follows Les, a small-time celebrity photographer desperate to make it big and Toby, a good-looking homeless teen with no direction except a vague desire to become an actor. The two become friends after a chance meeting outside a New York City club where Les attempts to get a picture of pop star K'Harma Leeds. Toby steps up to the plate and offers pro bono assistant services for room and board and Les obliges. However, when Toby strikes it big as an Actor and becomes romantically involved with K'Harma, it puts a strain on his relationship with Les. As a result Les grows jealous and plots revenge.

The dynamic Screenplay radiates with style, wit, and irony as it unfold's the laugh-out-loud tale. Despite the films predictabile plot and unoriginal take on the fame industry, it manages to captivate through a cunning infusion of fun, absurd, and completely unexpected circumstances. The script flows well for most of the film, but throws in an out-of-place plot twist near the resolution; which causes the film to lag and draws attention away from the main plot. However, by that point the film has already won the audience over with its well-developed, penetrating, quirky, larger-than-life characters that come off the page through brainy dialogue.

Delirious was perfectly cast and DiCillo manages to extract astounding performances from both Steve Buscemi and Michael Pitt as the way-ward counterparts Les and Toby; which combined with excellent acting from the rest of the cast adds depth to the script and makes the film pleasant to watch. Intense contemporary style hand-held Cinematography manages to capture the stark contrasts between the grim New York City alleys so common to the paparrazzi and the posh high-rise living of the rich and famous. Mediocre editing is punctuated by a snarky soundtrack that reeks of pop-music worthy of the talentless on-screen persona of love interest K'Harma. Luckily these are the only areas in which the film lacks and therefore can easily be easily forgiven and over-looked.

In the end Delirious delivers as a romping, kinetic, laugh-out-loud adventure and buddy flick that pokes fun at both celebrity and papparazzi, while emphasizing the importance of friends and mentors in our lives.