Snapping at celebrity

by LES EVERETT

In Tom DeCillo's Delirious Steve Buscemi plays Les, a prickly character who is not a paparazzo. He is a licensed professional photographer who hangs around trying to get money shots of celebrities.

Good looking homeless guy Toby (Michael Pitt) comes into Les's life and begins to prove useful on a number of fronts (though Les would never admit it). Toby acts as an unpaid assistant - doing the coffee run, carrying equipment, elbowing Les into good positions among the paparazzi packs and running errands.

When Toby catches the eye of pop princess K'harma (Alison Lohman) Les sees it as an opportunity to get inside the world of celebrity and better shots than any paparazzo could even hope to imagine. Of course there's also the matter of trust and friendship and Les reveals himself on such matters early in the piece when Toby asks if he has friends. According to Les, friends are just people who come around to your place and sit there and wait for the chance to talk about themselves.

Look out for a fine self-deprecating cameo from Elvis Costello; a wonderful scene showing K'harma's song writing process; her thing about bras - even in the bath - and the wonderfully enhanced lips of Gina Gershon (Dana) who provides a little succour for Toby as he ventures into an acting career.

An engaging story of friendship, betrayal and celebrity culture.

21 November 2007

australianrules.com.au

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