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Delirious

Indie comedy skewers paparazzi and their targets

By Geoff Berkshire

August 15, 2007

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Les (Steve Buscemi), a self-absorbed celebrity photographer, becomes an unlikely mentor to Toby (Michael Pitt, “Last Days”), a beatific young homeless man. But their relationship grows sour when Toby falls for superstar singer K’harma (Alison Lohman, “Big Fish”), who escorts him from observer to participant in the world of fame.

Big question: Is there actually anything in the entertainment industry left to satirize?

Catch it: “Delirious” takes plenty of easy shots at lowlife paparazzi and dim-witted pop tarts, but established indie filmmaker Tom DiCillo (“Living in Oblivion”) has a clear interest in pushing his lead characters beyond one-dimensional stereotypes. Pitt and Buscemi are both in fine form and balance each other nicely as characters on two sides of the moral spectrum.

Skip it: The movie’s inevitable blink-and-you’ll-miss-it theatrical release isn’t entirely unjustified. DiCillo doesn’t do much to make the movie feel any bigger than the modest indie it is. And, except for a memorable sequence with Les’ parents, the supporting characters are thinly drawn. That’s especially damaging in the case of K’harma.

Bottom line: Worth a look as long as Buscemi and Pitt share the screen.

Bonus: “Delirious” demonstrates that the best part of launching a celebrity perfume line is naming it. Among the suggestions for K’harma: K’harmalicious and K’harmajesty.