Disappointing

Rating: 1/10 (30 September 2006)

I was hopeful that this film that was billed as a series of dark quirky comedic vignettes would be enjoyable. The all-star cast which included Steve Busceme and Tom Waites was impressive. Unfortunately the writing and directing failed to tap this talent. Scene after scene elapsed and I kept asking "Am I missing something?" Is there a hidden point? Is the lack of any coherent dialog the point? Was this merely a collection of gritty images from which the viewer was to impart his/her own point in a Rorschachian fashion? Consider the scene in which a young woman smokes, drinks coffee, and thumbs through a gun magazine. A waiter periodically comes by and anxiously (after an initial error in filling her cup) attempts to attend to her lack of needs. Where does this go? Nowhere. Does it foreshadow subsequent events? Not to my viewing. I was so baffled by the lack of entertainment in this film that I began looking for geometric designs on the table (there were many gratuitous overhead shots that added nothing to the film) that might give clues to the over-ridding theme, message, anything. I finally gave up after an hour. I'm sorry to say that I'm either a shallow cad for missing what must be obvious to an artist somewhere, but this rates as the worst film I've seen this year.