The cast is loaded by supporting talent--Carol Kane is the long-suffering bartender at Trees Lounge, and there's Uncle Al (Seymour Cassel). Uncle Al is a great character, and Uncle Al is exactly what Tommy will become--somewhat shady but always guaranteed to be viewed as the amusing family scallywag at all gatherings. When Al dies, Tommy uses Uncle Al's ice cream van and takes his place at the wheel. But even this relatively harmless employment leads Tommy into more trouble. Buscemi is right at home in the role of Tommy. We all know people like Tommy, and Buscemi's wonderful script and superb acting breathes life into a character who could all too easily be played as a stereotype--displacedhuman

Buscemi plays Tommy, a poor soul whose life spirals out of control day after day. He lost his job after taking some liberties with his employer's safe, lost his girlfriend to that same boss, cannot stop drinking to save his life, isn't above using drugs, and entangles himself in a relationship with the seventeen year old daughter of his former girlfriend's sister. Even worse, Tommy can't seem to land another job as a mechanic because his former employer badmouths him whenever someone calls for a reference. Tommy ultimately breaks down and takes a job as the driver of an ice cream truck, a position that causes more problems than solutions. He can't even pick up a girl at the bar without something bad happening. In a country where millions of people barely keep their heads above water, Tommy serves as an archetype of the lost soul. Arguably, his biggest problem stems from the fact that he blames everyone else for his own problems. Even when he approaches his former girlfriend with the intent to change for the better, he cannot do so without stating that he needs an external object to bring about that change (in this case, a child). In short, Tommy is afraid to look deep into his soul because he won't like what he will find there. Part of Tommy's problem rests on the fact that he lives above the bar, along with a few other losers like Billy, an old coot whose life melts away one drink at a time. By the end of the film, the viewer wonders whether Tommy will replace Billy at the bar and in life.

"Trees Lounge" does display comedic elements from time to time, giving rise to a situation where you laugh at scenes you know you shouldn't be chortling over. For example, there is the scene where the daytime bartender at Trees Lounge bets Tommy ten dollars that he cannot walk out of the bar without taking a drink. Tommy sneers at such a ridiculous proposition, wisecracking his way around the issue until finally forced to take the bet. He starts to walk away with the money, quickly reaches for his drink, downs it, and runs out of the bar. While the scene brings a smile to your face, you know at the same time that you are watching a man with a serious alcohol problem who probably isn't going to seek help anytime soon. I found the disheveled drunk who can't seem to keep his family together but who owns a moving company and a fancy house amusing, although it is an amusement tempered with a sense of sorrow for his inability to communicate with his own family. "Trees Lounge" plays your emotions like a master violinist handling a priceless instrument.

The supporting cast floating in and out of "Trees Lounge" staggers the mind. Chloe Sevigny, Debi Mazar, Daniel Baldwin, Mimi Rogers, Carol Kane, Samuel L. Jackson, and Anthony LaPaglia all appear in roles both major and minor. Buscemi must have called in a bunch of favors for his film, and the recognizable faces definitely provide the otherwise dreary atmosphere of Tommy's life with a little glitter. Sevigny especially shines as the flirty yet wise Debbie, the teenage girl who accompanies Tommy on his ice cream rounds and who helps bring down a whole lot of trouble for him.

The DVD version promises a commentary by Steve Buscemi and a music video by one of the soundtrack groups, but the version I watched included none of these extras. That is unfortunate, too, because I would really like to hear what Buscemi says about this spectacular effort. Ultimately, "Trees Lounge" offers no definitive conclusions about Tommy's life, no concrete resolutions about where he will end up. In this way, the film mirrors real life where we cannot arrive at certainties from mere snapshots of a specific time in a person's existence. Who knows? Maybe Tommy will snap out of his malaise and finally live his life to the fullest, or maybe his doom sits right around the corner. Whatever the result, the fascinating "Trees Lounge" sits on a video store shelf near you awaiting your attentions. Run, don't walk, to see this film.