Review of Saint John of Las Vegas (2010) by Montes H — 27 Jan 2010

Just a fun, totally surreal trip into the 9th Circle of Hell, otherwise known as Las Vegas. And they hit each of the other 8 circles en route. Don't believe me? Check out the Divine Comedy and see what I mean.

But Dante was never this much fun. The cameos - Tim Blake Nelson as a nudist survivalist, John Cho as a man on fire who just wants a smoke, and Emmanuelle Chriqui as the hottest, bow-legged, wheelchair-bound stripper you've ever seen, just to name a few - are absolutely golden.

And the visual style is just flawless: I love the way Hue loves to mix up deep & flat space as we follow John's decent into his own personal nightmare. That said, it's the old pro Buscemi and the hot new star Malco who bring it all home.

Playing against type, Romany Malco is perfect as the aloof, tightly wound Virgil, who you KNOW is holding out on you and John but you can never quite figure out where he's coming from. The fact that we KNOW he's sitting on so much energy just makes his refusal to use it that much more compelling.

And what can be said about Steve Buscemi that hasn't been said before? You feel his desperation, his inadequacy, his fear, his hunger - he's an everyman who uncovers all of our innate smallness in a way that makes us follow and enjoy instead of recoil and judge.

Sarah Silverman is just the batshit crazy icing on the smiley-face cake. Definitely worth the trip.