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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Delirious
Peace Arch Releasing


8.0

based on 22 reviews
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based on 4 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING:

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)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Tom DiCillo
DIRECTED BY:	Tom DiCillo
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: May 6, 2008 Theatrical: August 15, 2007
RUNNING TIME:	107 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

This is the best DiCillo movie I've seen, and he's made some good ones ("Box of Moonlight," "The Real Blonde").

The Hollywood Reporter Sura Wood

Smart, funny and ultimately over-the-top spoof is more often than not, spot on.

The New Yorker David Denby

The movie is exhilarating in a way that only hard-won knowledge of the world can be.

Variety Jonathan Holland

An all-or-nothing perf from old DiCillo hand Steve Buscemi and a script that leaves no ironical stone unturned make this laugh-out-loud fare.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Tom DiCillo’s angry comedy Delirious subjects modern celebrity culture to a microscopic examination that shows the toxic virus of fame squirming and multiplying under its lens.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Among DiCillo's best, and returns to the central theme of his career: the elusive and destructive nature of fame.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

In the end, I don't know that Delirious has all that much to say about the fame game, but you'll laugh nonetheless.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Despite some plot holes, Delirious, hits the bull's-eye with razor-sharp performances and dialogue.

Chicago Tribune Tasha Robinson

Engaging, intelligent and enjoyable.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

DiCillo's short, sharp snapshot about celebrity and life on the fringe has nothing new to say, but it says it with considerable charm and affection.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Buscemi makes this pathetic and potentially lethal shutterbug a figure of surprising humor and compassion.

San Francisco Chronicle David Wiegand

Wonderfully giddy meditation on the nature of fame.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

A story peopled by flawed archetypes, it's an achingly funny film that is also a little sad around the edges.

Film Threat Jeremy Mathews

The story's surprises range from clever to annoying, but DiCillo manages to hold it all together with his consistently amusing cast members, who make you laugh at their characters' self-absorbed folly.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Agently attitudinous, generally zippy urban fairy tale about pop stars and the hangers-on who coddle (or prey upon) them, Tom DiCillo's Delirious is a mild "Midnight Cowboy," a minor "King of Comedy," and mainly a vehicle for Steve Buscemi as a lower Manhattan–based paparazzo.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

The jokes are sparse and predictable, and the storytelling is, too. But Buscemi and Gershon have great fun with their roles, and Pitt is strangely agreeable about the whole thing. Bully for him.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Everyone here is obsessed with finding "the real thing" - the next hot actor, the next revealing paparazzi shot, the lover or the friend who'll make it all worthwhile. Everyone settles for the illusion of reality instead. It's prettier, and it doesn't hurt so much.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

It would be nice to see a sharp, funny, penetrating satire of the new, kicked-up culture of empty media fame, but Tom DiCillo's scattershot buddy movie Delirious isn't it.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Though it scores a reasonable share of laughs, Delirious might have been better off if it weren't a comedy at all.

Premiere Glenn Kenny

The movie becomes less fizzy once DeCillo decides to make A Statement (a rather incoherent one at that).

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Purports to give us the lowdown on Manhattan celebrity life, yet it depends so consistently on plot contrivances and other movies (The King of Comedy, Midnight Cowboy, even All About Eve) that it often comes across as wannabe muckraking.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Too many different stories are vying for attention here, and none of them are very good.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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Delirious Peace Arch Releasing

Delirious
Peace Arch Releasing