13 Moons

Color, R (mature themes, nudity, strong language), 97 min., DVD $24.95, VHS $44.95

DVD: no extras

Street: June 29, Prebook: June 8

First Run: L, Aug. 2002, $$1 mil.

Cast: Steve Buscemi (Big Fish), Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent), Daryl Mitchell (TV's "Ed"), David Proval (The Hollywood Sign), Peter Stormare (Bad Boys II), Jennifer Beals (TV's The L Word), Pruitt Taylor Vince (Monster)

MONARCH

Story Line: In the span of one evening, two fired TV clowns (Buscemi, Dinklage) cross paths with a number of people in transition. Included are a bail bondsman (Proval) whose son is in medical jeopardy, a priest (Vince) and a rapper (Mitchell) whose wife is quitting his act.

Bottom Line: 13 Moons is one of the odder hybrids to appear on the festival circuit. It has all the trappings of an indie feature: self-aware characters, a quirky plot structure, handheld digital-video camerawork and location shooting. After about a third of the movie has elapsed, however, it quickly turns into an old-fashioned tearjerker, as the colorful characters drive through the streets of LA looking to a find a deranged drunk (Stormare) who was slated to donate a kidney to the bail bondsman's ailing son. At this point, some fairly torturous scenes depict Stormare's character acting abrasively loony on the streets and at the rapper's luxurious mansion (don't ask). The cast deserves credit for trying to breathe life into their characters, but the film's sole distinction is the nice work done by Buscemi and Dinklage as a neurotic comedy team. Renters will have a more pleasant viewing experience, though, if they check out the duo's first on-screen pairing in Tom DiCillo's Living in Oblivion. --Ed Grant

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