There is only one word I would use to describe Saint John of Las Vegas: meh. I know, it's not a real word, but I think it sums up the movie pretty nicely. Everything about it is just dull. It's not horrible. It's not good. It's just meh. There were funny moments, none that I can remember, but I vaguely remember laughing once or twice. I was invested enough in the story to stick around, but the ending didn't resonate with me. Honestly, I pretty much forgot about it the second I stepped foot outside the theatre.
Saint John of Las Vegas tells the story John (Steve Buscemi), a down-on-his-luck, degenerate gambler who lives in a very basic (boring) condo, who works at a very basic (boring) insurance company. He's low on cash, spends most of his salary on lottery tickets and essentially leads a terrible life. Finally tired of his life, he decides to go ask his boss, Mr. Townsend (Peter Dinklage), for more responsibility. After a truly grating conversation that includes many sexual double entendres by Dinklage, John is given the opportunity to become a fraud investigator. His first assignment will be with the company's number one fraud man, Virgil (Romany Malco), investigating a car wreck that has put a stripper in a wheelchair. From here it becomes a road movie/buddy comedy, with John and Virgil traveling all over the outskirts of Las Vegas. Finally they arrive in Vegas and what happens from here is pretty predictable, keeping in mind that John has a crippling gambling problem.
This movie pretty much goes nowhere the whole time. It features two wasted performances by Dinklage and Sarah Silverman who plays John's office girlfriend, Jill. Buscemi, an actor I normally enjoy, especially in Fargo and Ghost World, was lackluster in his role. He was in essence recycling the unattractive, everyman character he plays in most of his films. The only bright spot in the movie was Malco, who performed his role of the badass fraud investigator Virgil with particular gusto. He seemed to be the only actor who wasn't phoning it in and looked to be having a great time doing it.
I wish I could say something positive about the direction or cinematography of the film but there is nothing that stood out to me. Director and writer Hue Rhodes did little to impress in his first feature attempt. His script was flat and dreary and could've been ripped off from any number of Elmore Leonard novels. The movie unfortunately was more comparable to Be Cool and not Get Shorty.
I would not recommend this movie to most people. I suppose if you have only one channel and you are immobile, then it's possibly worth your time. But I still think your time would be better spent staring out the window.
