Delirious, a film by Tom DiCillo (2007)

I think this film was too angry for me truly enjoy it. Steve Buscemi did a fine job of portraying Les Galantine but, well, Les is a bit of a scuzzball. He's a washed up photographer, tired of following celebrities around, tired of being a paparazzo but lacking the energy, will and probably talent to do anything else. His big moment was back in the 1970's, when he took a photo of Elvis Costello with his hat off. He still talks of "the shot that's heard around the world" but he's not going to get it - the one photo we see him get is sold for $700, finds its way into some trashy magazine and completely offends his parents. His apartment is a disgrace, he obviously has no money to speak of and no prospects. Not really a lifestyle to be proud of.

And so he vents - the film opens with him swearing furiously because he is being denied access to the latest singing sensation, K'harma (Alison Lohman, who also did a fine job). In an odd sort of moment, he takes a homeless fellow, Toby (Michael Pitt) under his wing - gives him a job (unpaid) as his assistant and a place to sleep, in a cupboard. In an equally unbelievable moment, Toby and K'harma see each other and it is love at first sight. Sure, he's pretty and all, but he's a homeless bum who claims to be an actor. A singer who is moving "ten million units" and launching her own fragrance (Instant K'harma) is going to take him back to her hotel, right?

And so we end up with a fairly conventional sort of rom-com, with the ups and downs one expects from a rom-com provided by Les's job as a paparazzi - he's invited to K'harma's birthday party, Elvis Costello is there and the inevitable happens. I think the one departure from convention is that there's no prolonged "will they ever get it together" period; things happen pretty smartly. I think the most enjoyable part of the movie for me was towards the end, when Toby has found himself in the limelight thanks to being in some sort of truly atrocious "reality serial killer epic", and his manager and K'harma's manager are battling over who should have precedence on the red carpet at the awards ceremony. In front of all their fans and about a million cameras, Toby and K'harma entwined themselves in each other. Sweet.