LONESOME JIM

Steve Buscemi? I'm sorry I didn't like your movie. But I really loved you as Crazy Eyes in Mr. Deeds.

If depression is characterized by an absence of highs and lows, then Lonesome Jim is one clinically depressed movie. Chronically unhappy and lacking any direction, Jim (Casey Affleck) stumbles into his parent's house shortly after Christmas. He seems to have hit bottom, so I assumed he would spend the rest of the movie turning his life around, or trying to kill himself, or SOMETHING, but no. Jim just mopes around being the selfish, inconsiderate slug that he is, and when he finally decides to be a better person, the movie just ends. I'm getting the blahs just thinking about it.

Jim has always blamed his parents for his unhappiness, but he has no problem eating their food, taking their money, or borrowing the van when his mom needs it. His mother (Mary Kay Place) is relentlessly cheerful, and still calls Jim her pretty boy, even though he's always all disheveled and looks like he'd smell like pee. His father (the fabulous Seymour Cassel) is an affable, hard-working guy who puts up with Jim even though he doesn't understand him. They're not exactly the kind of people who make you want to call Child Protective Services, yet their other adult son, Tim (Kevin Corrigan), is in worse shape than Jim.

After Jim makes a comment about the sorry state of Tim's life, Tim has an "accident" that leaves him in traction. Racked with guilt, Jim takes Tim's place at the family business, begins coaching his nieces' basketball team, and becomes a beacon of light for the entire family. His fledgling love affair with Anika (Liv Tyler) takes off, and he becomes a mentor and father figure to her adorable little boy . Following a victory at the state basketball championship, Jim proposes to Anika, and they all live happily ever after. Oh wait, that's what would have happened in a Hollywood movie. Lonesome Jim is indie all the way, so let me start again....

With a bit of nudging from his father, Jim reluctantly takes Tim's place at the family business, which as far as I could tell is some sort of crutch/walker assembly facility. He also takes over coaching duty for his nieces' basketball team, but mainly sits on the bleachers while the little girls play. Bad goes to worse when Jim's mother is arrested, and finally Jim decides to stop sucking so much. That's it—he basically writes her a letter and says, "Dear Mom, I'm sorry I always thought you were lame. In thinking you were lame, I became lame, and now I don't want to be so lame anymore. Love Jim." The end.

I can't say that Lonesome Jim isn't true to life, but it's certainly not the part of life that makes for a compelling film. Perhaps the people and events in Jim's life have a healing effect on his outlook, but it's hard to tell, seeing as how Jim never even cracks a smile. Casey Affleck is not actually interesting enough to hold up a movie, and the lively performances of Seymour Cassel, Mary Kay Place, Mark Boone Junior, and little Jack Rovello (from The Hours) are lost to the film's inertia. If the goal was to make the audience feel the sort of ennui that's overtaken Jim's life, then it succeeds wildly, but I'm thinking Lonesome Jim could use a dose of Prozac.

Steve Buscemi? I'm sorry I didn't like your movie. But I really loved you as Crazy Eyes in Mr. Deeds.