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:

Bar | Ex Girlfriend | Ice Cream Truck | Alcohol | Boredom

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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:

About 8 minutes in, just before Buscemi drives up to the garage where he has dialogue with a mechanic about his car's problem, he passes a parking lot. In the lot are three men walking together in the distance. They're dressed in Reservoir Dogs (1992) garb (black suits, white shirts, black tie); an homage to the film that put Buscemi on the map.

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: I know, but now I'm even worse. I don't know what I'm doing. I just, I, I just feel like... I don't know what I feel. I don't. I don't feel anything. Except lost.

Movie Connections:

Follows What Happened to Pete (1992)

Soundtrack:

YOU ALWAYS HURT THE ONE YOU LOVE

Kind Of Depressing

Steve Buscemi plays a loser who hangs around a bar called the Trees Lounge, who keeps making his own life worse. He picks fights with his friends, loses jobs, and generally gets drunk and gets into trouble. There's a great scene where Buscemi takes a job as an ice-cream truck driver, he's completely the wrong person to do the job. Still, the movie doesn't really have many happy or fun moments, it's the portrayal of a guy who just doesn't care anymore and wants to spend his time hanging around a bar with a bunch of other regulars with no aim in life but the next drink. This movie is not as fun, clever, interesting or memorable as it could have been, it's hard to care about any of the characters, they live such boring, banal lives, and there aren't any quotable lines in the movie. It is worth watching once, however.