October 24–31, 1996

movie shorts

TREES LOUNGE

Steve Buscemi stretches that great hangdog look of his over the entire 90-some minutes of this film (which he wrote and directed). A depressed, alcoholic, and out of work mechanic, Buscemi takes over his uncle's ice cream truck route (after theuncle, played by Seymour Cassell, dies of a heart attack). Moping about the loss of his girlfriend to his former friend and employer (Anthony DePaglia), he starts spending time with her 17-year-old niece, Chloe Sevigny (whose parents are played byDaniel Baldwin and Mimi Rogers). Her expressive face makes the most effective impression, as most of the film is concerned with a pretty regular and flat plot (glib guy gets his). Other cameos include Sam Jackson, Debi Mazar and Kevin Corrigan.Actually, the best part of watching this film is seeing who shows up in the small parts: clearly Buscemi hangs out with cool people.

— Cindy Fuchs

(Ritz Five; Ritz 12) Kerry Sherin interviews Steve Buscemi in Critical Mass.