Genre: Drama, Comedy
Tagline: Change your outlook. Change your life.
Plot: With LONESOME JIM, director Steve Buscemi delivers another low-budget gem about small-town American life. Boasting a fresh script courtesy of James C. Strause, the film begins when 27-year-old Jim (Casey Affleck) returns to his small Indiana town after having failed to make a dent as a writer in New York City. Depressed beyond comprehension, Jim must contend with his actively suicidal brother (Kevin Corrigan), insane mother (Mary Kay Place), and dangerously clueless uncle (Mark Boone Junior). Along the way, he meets a too-good-to-be-true nurse, Anika (Liv Tyler), and begins coaching his niece’s hapless basketball squad. As time passes, the fog threatens to hang around forever, making Jim wonder if returning home might have been the worst mistake of all.Hilarious in its honesty, tender in its performances, and compassionate in its direction, LONESOME JIM is an example of superior independent filmmaking. Casey Affleck and Liv Tyler deliver especially wonderful performances, giving three-dimensional depth to characters that could potentially have come off as one-note clichés. One can only hope that audiences will see through the low-budget production values and embrace the film’s universal
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 Discussion forum for this movie
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 Lonesome Jim is not going to become a generation’s anything the way Garden State is evolving, but it’s a decent sidebar and there’s nothing wrong with visiting Lonesome Jim even if you don’t want to live there.  --Erik Childress (eFilmCritic.com)
With such terrible experiences and dark depression haunting Jim, I'm still amazed I laughed as much as I did during this film. But maybe I was laughing because I was glad all these terrible things weren't happening to me.  --Don R. Lewis (FilmThreat.com)
The modest, darkly funny Lonesome Jim is the latest in that subgenre of movies about confused 20- and 30-somethings who return home to the bosom of their dysfunctional families...  --GARY GOLDSTEIN (Reel.com)
It's a familiar type of story, and it is deliberately aimless for long spells, which may frustrate viewers into not sticking with it. To those that may begin to feel this way, my advice is to be patient, as things do begin to gel as the story winds along, with an ending that is uplifting without being overly manipulative or saccharine.  --Vince Leo (Qwipster.net)
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| Cast |
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 | Liv Tyler
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
 | Mary Kay Place
Being John Malkovich, Girl, Interrupted, Sweet Home Alabama |
 | Seymour Cassel
The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Rushmore |
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| Music By |
Evan Lurie
Trees Lounge, Johnny Stecchino, Happy Accidents |
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| Though Lonesome Jim isn’t the breeziest fare in town, it certainly makes good use of Buscemi’s attention to character and sense of humor which, at times, is downright hilarious. If you’ve had days where you can’t stand the sight of a sunny disposition, you’ll want to meet Jim. --David Thomas (FilmCritic.com)
There is a sweetness, eventually, under the detached comedy of this funny, uneven film. B--Eric D. Snider (EricDSnider.com)
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