In the Soup

Directed by Alexandre Rockwell, In the Soup follows struggling screenwriter Adolfo Rollo (Steve Buscemi) as he connects with an oddball figure (Seymour Cassel’s Joe) interested in financing his first movie. Filmmaker Rockwell, armed with his and Tim Kissell’s screenplay, delivers an exceedingly rough-around-the-edges endeavor that grows less and less interesting (and more and more interminable) as it progresses, which is a shame, ultimately, given that the movie does benefit substantially from the predictably strong work of its two stars – with Buscemi and Cassel’s better-than-the-material-deserves efforts heightened by the very palpable chemistry between their respective characters. It’s clear, then, that In the Soup‘s downfall is triggered by Rockwell’s increasingly (and often aggressively) idiosyncratic sensibilities, as the picture’s heavy emphasis on quirky vignettes paves the way for a momentum-free midsection that proves disastrous (ie the movie’s second half generally feels endless). By the time the curiously (and incongruously) downbeat finale rolls around, In the Soup has cemented its place as an overly self-conscious and hopelessly uninvolving misfire that could hardly be more underwhelming.

* out of ****