Trees Lounge (1996)

Director:

Steve Buscemi

Writer:

Steve Buscemi (writer)

Release Date:

11 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A story about one man's search... for who knows what

Plot:

Things aren't going so well for Tommy Basilio. He lost his job because he "borrowed" money from the register...

Plot Keywords:

Ice Cream Truck | Real Life Siblings As Fictional Siblings | Pregnancy | Video | Ex Girlfriend

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Carol Kane	...	Connie
Mark Boone Junior	...	Mike
Steve Buscemi	...	Tommy
Bronson Dudley	...	Bill
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Rob (as Anthony Lapaglia)
Michael Buscemi	...	Raymond
Elizabeth Bracco	...	Theresa
John Ventimiglia	...	Johnny
Steven Randazzo	...	Vic
Suzanne Shepherd	...	Jackie
Rockets Redglare	...	Stan
Joe Lisi	...	Harry
Debi Mazar	...	Crystal
Eszter Balint	...	Marie
Richard Boes	...	Freddie

MPAA:

Rated R for plentiful strong language and some drug content.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/16 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Addis Wechsler Pictures

Trivia:

Steve Buscemi once was an actual ice cream truck driver on the streets where his character is shown driving such a truck.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Tommy reminds Debbie to collect her bag when he is dropping her off, you can see a crew person in corner of screen as well as in the window reflection.

Quotes:

[Tommy is immitating Marlon Brando from "On the Waterfront"]
Tommy: I coulda been somebody, instead of just an ice cream truck driver, which is what I am, let's face it.
Debbie: Who was that, Jerry Lewis?
Tommy: Jerry Lewis? You thought that was Jerry Lewis?

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Soundtrack:

HOLD YOUR HEAD UP

Hats off to Buscemi

Watched this with some trepidation, having seen the absolutely excellent trailer. So few movies live up to their trailers, especially indies. Anxiety increased by having read Buscemi's fairly harrowing account of making the film in one of those 'The Directors' books.

Shouldn't have worried. Great flick. Totally engrossing, especially to a *cough* former *cough* barfly like myself. Beautifully understated, funny, very sad, nicely paced and Buscemi very wisely NOT trying to dominate every scene, although he certainly dominates the movie.

Movie appears on first sight plot less but actually it isn't at all: Buscemi's search for a second chance to escape from the morass of his own making is riveting. Everyone involved seems to have had a good time and the beautifully relaxed performances are the reward. Only the two knucklehead goombahs fall below the otherwise uniformly excellent level.

A real treat, and thoroughly watchable-again able. My DVD was in TV format, which sucked, but otherwise the low budget doesn't really intrude.

Nearest movie to it I can think of offhand is KILLING OF A Chinese BOOKIE. Radically different subject matter but similar bittersweet texture.

A slightly, but only slightly, generous 9/10 from me.