Rated R for Some Language and Nudity
Starring: Steve Buscemi, Romany Malco, Sarah Silverman, Peter Dinklage
Written by: Hue Rhodes (inspired/adapted from “Dante’s Inferno”)
Directed by: Hue Rhodes
Run-time: 85 minutes
I feel confident in saying that I’m probably the only person who got really excited to see Saint John of Las Vegas because of Steve Buscemi and Peter Dinklage, and I definitely am not embarrassed to admit it. However, when it was given its small release in theaters, it never came close to here, so once again Netflix had to make the save and fill in the gap. And you know what? Despite its short running time and moments that didn’t make sense (or went completely over my head, you can never tell), Saint John of Las Vegas was an enjoyable watch, especially due to the excellent cast.
Steve Buscemi stars as John, a reformed gambler who left Las Vegas (and his old ways) for the bright lights of, erm, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Trading in the poker tables for a run of the mill job in the claims department of an insurance company, John fights his demons by way of scratch tickets. One day, his boss Mr. Townshend (Peter Dinklage) offers to help John move up in the company. His assignment? Accompany moody claims adjuster Virgil (Romany Malco) to investigate a totaled car claim on the outskirts of, you guessed it, Las Vegas. If John completes this job, he will receive a promotion, so he goes full force into it, trading barbs with Virgil and coming across a host of weird characters, from a wheelchair bound stripper to a nudist colony of rednecks who hate cars but worship the second amendment.
Saint John of Las Vegas belongs to Steve Buscemi; his character of John is the only one that is remotely fleshed out and Buscemi plays him brilliantly and hilariously. It’s been awhile since I have seen him act, and after watching this, I’m glad he finally got to take top billing in something that wasn’t Ed and His Dead Mother. Romany Malco, as the mysteriously quiet and tempermental Virgil, also does great work and he and Buscemi have great chemistry together. Dinklage gives another good, if a bit small, performance. The scene in his office when he gives the assignment was the funniest moment of the movie for me and I wished he had been in it more; seriously, dwarfism or not, the man can act.
The movie is filled with excellent characters; there’s Jill (Sarah Silverman), John’s co-worker who is obsessed with yellow happy faces; a carnival worker who is stuck in his fire costume and can’t get out because it constantly goes off; the aformentioned nudists which are headed up by an hilarious appearance by Tim Blake Nelson. Although you never get to know these characters, their few moments on screen are excellent, even from Silverman, who I’ve never claimed to like (and still won’t).
With it being so short, it’s sad that Saint John of Las Vegas moves so quick from scene to scene. I wanted more from the side characters and I wanted more between John and Virgil. The movie can also get a bit too indie quirky (as good as Silverman was here, that yellow smiley face quirk was beaten over my head numerous times), but it’s well-written and manages to coast on the talents of its cast. This should go down as one of Buscemi’s finest roles, and anyone who’s a fan of his work should check this out.
Buscemi can do no wrong!
Kai B. Parker recently posted..THE HAPPY 101 AWARD
Good review, Jon.
I went into St. John wanting to like it, but for me there was the quirkiness and not much else. You’d think Dinklage and Buscemi together would be an instant win, but this is the second time they have bombed out, in my book.
The first was the too slight, mucho peculiar, 13 Moons in 2002 where Buscemi played a clown named Bananas. The problem with Las Vegas is that nothing is much tied together, and Buscemi’s character starts out promising but is mostly a sketch of a person.
Also, for all the implied allusions to Dante’s Inferno (Virgil, the wandering through the ‘circles of Hell’ and the varied and grotesque individuals they meet) it doesn’t really capture any of the themes or ideas from that work.
Interesting, but it was sadly a failure for me.
I like Romany Malko too. Was great on Weeds and in 40 YO Virgin.
Kai B. Parker recently posted..THE HAPPY 101 AWARD
I don’t ever remember the supporting cast of Weeds other than Elizabeth P.
I loved him on Weeds. Another excellent show Kai.
Heather recently posted..Review- Saint John of Las Vegas 2009
Not even Kevin Nealon?!?!?!?!
Kai B. Parker recently posted..THE HAPPY 101 AWARD
Not by name at least (well Justin Kirk). I see them and I go…hmm, where do I know him from…and then I see Weeds and I think: Oh snap. I’m not sure what that implies.
Encore Entertainment recently posted..Encore’s Greatest Voices- 20-11
I had a free advanced screening of this months ago but it didn’t look all that appealing. I probably would have had it been anything but -10 degree Minnesota winter. Looks like I missed a pretty solid movie
Castor recently posted..
How do you all get into these screenings? What am I NOT doing?
Kai B. Parker recently posted..THE HAPPY 101 AWARD
You’re not the only one amped to see a film prominently featuring Buscemi and Malco and also the Dink (though less prominently)! I’ll be keeping an eye out for this one…your review just got me more excited to see it.
I’m glad there are others!
Hi – I’m Hue Rhodes, the writer/director of Saint John of Las Vegas. Thanks for the write-up. And I’m glad you appreciate Steve Buscemi as much as I do – he’s a genius.
Thanks again.
Hue
Thank YOU for checking the review out. Buscemi is a genius; I haven’t seen anything he’s directed (at least not to my knowledge), but as an actor he’s been one of my favorites for a long time. Ditto to Dinklage; I don’t know what it is but every time I see he’s going to do something, I make it a point to search it out. It may be my love of The Station Agent and Nip/Tuck haha.
Can’t wait to see what you do next.
I love Buscemi. He’s one of my favorite character actors and over the years I don’t feel as though he’s received enough credit for his talent as he’s been linked to so many Adam Sandler movies. I’m definitely interested in checking this out though Jon. Great review.
HEY! I love him in Samdler movies. Did you know his guitar playing skills were self taught? Hmmm?
Kai B. Parker recently posted..THE HAPPY 101 AWARD
The Dante’s Inferno roots make it sound interesting.
Encore Entertainment recently posted..Encore’s Greatest Voices- 20-11
Bartleby’s right; there are allusions but it isn’t really prominent (I looked it up after watching the movie haha). It’s worth a look.
Hopefully I will see it eventually, I’m oddly drawn to the title.
Encore Entertainment recently posted..Encore’s Greatest Voices- 20-11
I am as obscessed with poker as anyone can be.
I’ve got a fan page over on Facebook. If you wanted to see: