My 27 movie A-Z film-a-thon: Day 13.
“I’m sorry, Nick. Something came up and I forgot to call. I feel like such an a__-hole.”
“You’re only saying that because you’ve got Preparation H on your face.”
There are stretches of Living in Oblivion that feel Oscar-worthy. The writing is so sharp, so inspired, you forget how small the production really is.
Despite being a Sundance hit and critically beloved, this movie flew under the radar. It somehow escaped Roger Ebert entirely—rare for a ’90s indie. Maybe it felt too “made for L.A.” and never caught on in middle markets, even in Chicago.
Tonally, it’s about 70% of a Christopher Guest film—For Your Consideration comes to mind—but with more bite. The satire lands because it’s grounded in genuine frustrations of indie filmmaking.
Nick Reeve (Steve Buscemi) is directing a film that seems… off. Most shots have actors delivering lines directly to the camera, side by side. It might be a nod to old Hollywood style, but it reads like clunky direction—probably by design, to reflect the chaos behind the scenes.
That chaos is part of the charm, but also the limitation. The “film within the film” is never compelling enough to fully anchor the story. The structure is scattered, with a handful of scenes that feel like endings, none of which really stick. It’s an odd way to finish a film with such smart momentum early on.
But the cast—what a cast. DiCillo somehow assembled Steve Buscemi, Catherine Keener, Peter Dinklage, and Dermot Mulroney before they broke big. Buscemi and Keener especially seem fully formed here, already doing what they do best.
I’d say there are about seven standout moments that feel like they were lifted straight from an A-list film, and another seven full scenes that showcase genuinely brilliant writing. But while these parts shine on their own, they don’t quite add up to a cohesive whole. The film is less than the sum of its best moments..
This seems like it was made five years before it possibly could have. It is great. As someone that has seen almost every prominent English language movie from the 90s, this seems like a lost relic of the era. A forgotten keepsake that continuously earns its “cult film” label.
8/10
Avidavr: Media Reviews 