Steve Buscemi should be getting more starring roles. Not only is he a great actor, when given the proper role he can display a great sense of vulnerability that makes him easily relatable even in the most ridiculous situations. Want to see a prime example of this… then go rent 2001’s Ghost World, because Saint John of Las Vegas is an interesting idea that is executed with very little success

Heavily inspired by Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, Saint John of Las Vegas chronicles the subtle, life-changing journey of John Alighieri (Buscemi), a gambling addict trying to recover while stuck in a dull desk job at an insurance company in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  When John’s boss, Mr. Townsend  (Peter Dinklage), assigns him to return to Vegas to investigate an insurance claim filed by a stripper, who goes by the moniker “Tasty D Lite” (Emmanuelle Chriqui), with fraud investigator Virgil (Romany Malco). While in Vegas, John is forced to fight his temptation to return to his old gambling habits.

For being his directorial debut, writer director Hue Rhodes has a very impressive ensemble that also includes Sarah Silverman as John’s love interest and Tim Blake Nelson as the head of a nudist colony. The problem comes from the fact that his cast appears to have more confidence in his script then he does. John’s quest is an interesting one but Rhodes spends more time focusing on how odd and quirky all the different characters John meets are. Which is not entirely a bad thing, but in order for that type of plot to work Rhodes really needed to develop John as a relatable straight man. By spending so much time focusing on the secondary characters, it gives the impression that John is not an interesting enough character to focus on. Taking into consideration that I have not studied Dante’s Inferno, I am not entirely sure how much of the film was staying true to the source material. While it would explain why the film takes this approach, it still becomes redundant after awhile. It would have helped if we got to learn more about John other than his gambling problem. Yes, addictions are sad to see, but if a character is going to be sympathetic or even slightly enjoyable they need more then one major trait.

Unfortunately the lack of character development and weak dialogue in the script results in the performances suffering as well. Buscemi tries his best but is reduced to playing the same creepy character that we see in almost every Adam Sandler comedy. While he has strong chemistry with Sarah Silverman, there are not enough scenes with them together. Another problem is Malco’s character, as Virgil, he is not given much to do until the final act and even that does not make sense to either the story or the character. Once again I do not have the background information to judge the purpose of the character but to a certain degree it does not matter, a good adaptation is suppose to be able to make sense to the viewer who have no understanding of the original story as well as stay true to the spirit of the source. The best performance comes from the reliably awesome Peter Dinklage as Mr. Townsend ,but he does not get the screentime he deserves.

Overall I am sad to say that while Saint John of Las Vegas is certainly an interesting mess, it does not change the fact that it is a mess. However I still have hope in Rhodes as a writer and director, as he is clearly willing to take creative risks and has the potential to make something interesting and original. If he works to improve his plot structure, I can see him having an excellent career.

-Jon DeBono