Sympathy For Delicious [MA]

Delicious Dean is a paralysed DJ struggling to survive on the harsh streets of LA. Cynical, stubborn, and foul-mouthed by nature, Dean is a very hard person to get along with, which makes it all the more remarkable when he discovers that he has the gift to heal the sick, though not himself. Sick and jealous of charitably healing the sick homeless in the shelter he lives near, Dean cashes in on his gift in exchange for his rock and roll dreams. 

I honestly don’t know what to make of this film. It left me completely at a loss as to what to think, a little like Sleeping Beauty did. It’s a very opaque film in which you know where it’s going and what it’s trying to do, but you’re not seeing it. 

Delicious Dean is a paralysed DJ struggling to survive on the harsh streets of LA. Cynical, stubborn, aggressive, and foul-mouthed by nature, Dean is a very hard person to get along with; always pushing away people and snapping when they offer him help or sympathy, which makes it all the more remarkable when he discovers that he has the gift to heal the sick, though not himself. Sick and jealous of charitably healing the sick and homeless inhabitants of the shelter, Dean cashes in on his gift in exchange for his dreams of being a rock star. 

Essentially this is a story about jealousy, religious belief, self-pity, and cause and effect. Driven by the central protagonist, Sympathy For Delicious shows the audience an original, biting, and somewhat Faustian tale of belief and morals. A good example of the dichotomy of what is personally right and what is morally right. This man, self-pitying, cynical, aggressive, and just all around not very nice, is given this God-like gift of healing. That alone is an intriguing contradiction. We then see him use this gift charitably, all the while knowing that he means nothing of what he says or does. We then see him selfishly exploit his gift for his chance to be a famous rock star. We see his actions turn over onto themselves and bring his station down to one lower than as when he started. And then we see forgiveness and a second chance. 

I think what it all boils down to is a film about the mysterious workings of “the Lord”, the trials and tribulations that humans go through to make themselves better in the eyes of God and their fellow man. All up, I found this movie to be grim, gritty, and very hard to digest. It puts forward some great ideas about life and the different paths and ways in which we choose to live it, but it is a really hard film to get, not dissimilar to Sleeping Beauty. 

Starring Christopher Thornton, Mark Ruffalo, Juliette Lewis, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, James Karen, John Carroll Lynch, and Orlando Bloom who was very rock star and not at all how we usually see him, Sympathy For Delicious was an interesting film with some interesting ideas, but ultimately it’s an acquired taste that I just don’t have. Filled with cynicism, healing, religion, miracles, rock stars, drama, jealousy, and a shitload of swearing, it’s a film that I can appreciate, but not admire, and I don’t think it’s one that I would watch again.