Living in Oblivion

Rating:
Summary: A film is a dream - or, lapping dreams in this case...
Review: The director makes us get lost joyfully in the different layers of cinematic reality in "Living in Oblivion". The passages from one episode of the dreamlike (or nightmare-like) production to the other are extremely smooth and well thought. In what is probably his best performance, Steve Buscemi is an eager young director with a talent which he expects to outburst; but what outbursts is the talent of Tom DiCillo, the director of the movie I watched (or maybe dreamt of)...

Rating:
Summary: RENT THIS MOVIE! ITS WORTH THE SEE!
Review: The movie just makes you look at the ridiculous lives of the film crew! Yet everything reaks of reality. Just the crazy way the world goes! It made me sit back and think of the people who were filming this movie and the chaos behind the scenes. It is a nice movie w\ colorful twists and superb directing! Again its a display of great acting!

Rating:
Summary: Two Major Talents Out to Amuse... Watch Out!
Review: The talents I am talking about, of course, are the director Tom Di Cillo ("Moonlight in a Box"), subsequently infamous amongst the 'independent crowd', and the star, Steve Buscemi, who here once again proves that he is one of the most versatile character actors working today. The result of these two individuals working together, a comedy about making indie films called "Living in Oblivion", is one of the funniest and intelligent motion pictures of the 1990s.
Most comedies nowadays either rely on dumb physical humor (celebrities: grimace, puke, punch, scream, trip'n'fall...) or on recycled situational gags ("Welcome to Mooseport"?!) Genres like romantic comedies are sickeningly predictable (Richard Curtis/ Hugh Grant, anyone?) and sentimental. Spoofs like "Scary Movie" refer frequently to the more-successful slapstick of the Abraham/Zuckers' "Airplane!" (1980) or other earlier and funnier stabs at eccentric wit (Mel Brooks).
What we have nowadays, ladies and gents, is Robert De Niro hamming it WELL up in the gruesomely exploitative "Analyze That"; Eddie Murphy counting his paycheck in "Daddy Day Care" (where it's sporadically puked on by an annoying eight-year-old twerp) and "The Haunted Mansion" (where the paycheck should have been snatched away by Terence Stamp, who definitely got a lot less dough for the project than 'Axel', but tries a lot harder to save it from drowning in its own poop). It is a delight for us film-lovers to witness a comedy that is not desperate and/or indifferent in its attempts to make its audiences laugh, a comedy that is honest and certain of its genuinely witty concept, a comedy that is inspired rather than expired. "Living in Oblivion" is that kind of comedy.
The film's 1995 theatrical release was unimpressive due to the picture's low-budget, and a central theme that withheld limited appeal. In my opinion, neither of those factors should prevent an average film-goer with a developed sense of wit to enjoy Tom Di Cillo's little masterpiece. Despite the fact that it focuses on the intricacies and hardships of independent filmmaking, the topic is just as accessible as any story contemporary Hollywood has to offer ("Bowfinger"...). One does not have to possess knowledge of all technical aspects of producing a motion picture to appreciate the film's humor.
From the first nightmare dream sequence that Steve Buscemi's director has, the audience is hooked: everything goes wrong in each hilarious take, shot in color as opposed to the dream's black-and-white reality. Just when it threatens to stretch too long, the director wakes up (in color) and proceeds to his film shoot (in black-and-white). The dream sequence serves as an introduction of all the quirky crew members, including Dermot Mulroney's eye-patched DoP and Catherine Keener's emotional actress. The resulted nightmare is a premonition of events to get even more horrible in reality, supplemented by the established 'color switch' wackiness. And they do get worse.
Slapstick may play a part in this film, but what makes it different from the forced obnoxiousness of Rob Schneider crap is how effortlessly it is handled by the cast, which makes the slapstick a natural consequence of built-up, razor-sharp insightful humor. The script avoids cliche and pathos - it keeps the film down in reality, which allows certain character exaggerations (the blonde arrogant film star...he is by far one of the funniest single characters in film history). Steve Buscemi shamelessly adopts yet another identity - where is his "funny-lookin'" thug from "Fargo", or the geeky Mr. Pink from 'Reservoir Dogs"? In "Living in Oblivion", Steve Buscemi runs the show as the exasperated director, who has to maintain absolute tranquility with his cast and crew. Buscemi's gradual loss of cool is something to marvel. As for the rest of the cast, it is simply flawless, each character a developed individual worthy of his own feature film.
Tom Di Cillo's brilliant entrance into the filmmaking arena has everything a comedy needs: tight dialogue, witty actors who understand and aspire to their script, sublime direction that does not distract but has style, and, most importantly, the appreciation of its audience's expectations. "Living in Oblivion" respects humanity's need to laugh. I just wish that the rest of "The Dream Factory" wouldn't underestimate that need, and stop living in oblivion.

Rating:
Summary: yay, it's on DVD!
Review: This film is a must-see for anyone who enjoys the goings-on behind the camera during movie production (or just about anyone who likes to laugh). The performances are fantastic (Steve Buscemi in one of his best comic roles; Catherine Keener playing the insecure yet talented actress wonderfully; James LeGros spot-on as the pea-brained pretty boy). Tom DiCillo captures the characters and craziness perfectly. You won't be disappointed!

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Movies about Movies
Review: This film is a must-see for anyone who enjoys the goings-on behind the camera during movie production (or just about anyone who likes to laugh). The performances are fantastic (Steve Buscemi in one of his best comic roles; Catherine Keener playing the insecure yet talented actress wonderfully; James LeGros spot-on as the pea-brained pretty boy). Tom DiCillo captures the characters and craziness perfectly. You won't be disappointed!

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!!!!
Review: This film is great. We're new to VideoMaking and the industry of camera's lighting sound etc. are all very foreign ... but since we have it upon us to now make video, we needed to see what the movie-side is really like. If you aren't in the biz and need a realistic view into the trials and tribulations that many probably go through - or if you just want to laugh at some pretty cool charactarizations of people in general - you'll thoroughly enjoy this movie.

Rating:
Summary: yay, it's on DVD!
Review: this has always been one of my favorite films, and i've played my VHS copy for many friends. i was very excited to discover that it is now available on DVD. if you enjoy movies about the making of movies, be sure to check this one out.

tom dicillo's director's commentary track is very informative and well worth a listen. be aware that although the dvd case says "deleted scenes", the dvd actually provides only "deleted scene" (the www.amazon.com description is correct).

anyone who has worked on or enjoyed independent films will surely appreciate the humor and insights of this great movie.

Rating:
Summary: A funny movie
Review: This is a classic film that really embodies the independent filmmaking spirit. I can't express how true most of the things are in this film. I've done work on a few independent features and this movie hits very close to home. If you have any knowledge at all of filmmaking, please take the time to watch this extremely funny movie.

Rating:
Summary: Hostess twinky mother f**ker
Review: This is a great movie. A tribute to all independent filmmakers. It's a stereotypical satire about a stereotypical low budget film shoot. The clapperboard, the week old milk and the obviously high camera focus guy. The movie portrayed frustration prefectly, not just frustration in making movies but in relationships and life overall.
As always Steve Buscemi is awesome. Buy this movie!!!!

Rating:
Summary: This one is worth every penny!
Review: This is a keeper! It gives a straight foward look behind the scenes of filmmaking. Giving the viewers a sense of what it is to work on the set of a film. How time-consuming and frustrating making a film can be. And yet it does it in the most hilarious way. I thought Steve Buscemi was amazing, he had me in stitches with the way he looked everytime he had to cut a scene. Dermot Mulroney, Catherine Keener and the midget were hysterical. I loved everything about this film and will watch it over and over again.