Quirk. How do you feel about it? This is the primary question you must ask yourself before you decide to see Saint John of Las Vegas. It’s such a double edged sword. It can make a movie, but too much and it becomes forced; it can devolve in to parody. This is a movie that is literally drowning in quirkiness. It is a sea of quirk, a river of it flowing directly in to your face. Can you take this much quirk?

John (Steve Buscemi at perhaps his most awkward) is a natural loser, a gambling addict with terrible luck, who seems in love with the idea of who he could be, who he wants to be. He works in an insurance claims company where he sits next to a perky and quirky woman (Sarah Silverman) who has a quirky obsession with smiley faces decorating her cubicle, house, and body with them. His quirky boss is a self obsessed midget whose desk is flanked on four corners with large free standing Greek columns. Intending to ask for a raise, he ends up being promoted to Fraud Investigations, teamed with a pensive “angry young black man” character and sent out on a meandering travelogue to disprove the claims of one Ms. Tasty Delight. On paper the film claims to be a loose adaptation of Dante’s Inferno. Dante is actually listed in the credits as “based on a story by”, though on the face of it, this is basically bullshit. Yes, the main character’s last name is Alighieri, and his companion’s name is Virgil, and there’s even a character named Lue Cipher. But the only serious connection between the two is that it gives the film license to to show scene after scene of super quirky strangeness, each dripping with the all pervasive quirk. »Read More

While attending a downtown concert a few weeks ago, I was mulling over whom I should talk to regarding coverage of the Virginia Film Festival, when I fortuitously ran into an old friend.  Alexander had introduced me to William S. Burroughs long ago, and knowing that Burroughs was responsible for nicknaming John Waters, I thought this could provide a solid pointer as to who should tackle the fest.  Alexander and I decided to engage some of the more offbeat items from the 80+ showings, as the more mainstream ones are likely covered to death.

Trapped in world he never made, Alexander wanders through life perplexed and confused by the things others take for granted. His strange and skewed perspective can amuse and illuminate as well as disturb. Pursued by a demon of boredom he is compelled to go out, over and over again, to watch and experience, forced to socialize and make new friends, lest he be consumed from within. He enjoys film, music, literature, things that are cute, and everything strange.