'DELIRIOUS' A FUNNY PICTURE OF PAPARAZZO'S MISFORTUNES.

Byline: BOB STRAUSS

>FILM CRITIC

In "Delirious," independent writer-director Tom DiCillo continues the fascination with low-life celebrity that's fueled most of his movies ("Johnny Suede," "Living in Oblivion," "The Real Blonde").

I'm not sure this kind of "Midnight Cowboy"-lite look at paparazzi and lucky fools illuminates much about the subject. But the film's got some good, amusing moments and, perhaps, an insight or two into hanger-on psychology.

There's a romping quality to the whole thing, though, that cancels out its stabs at deeper, darker seriousness.

Michael Pitt, last seen rambling about incoherently as "Last Days'" Kurt Cobain stand-in, is only slightly more sentient as Toby Grace. Having fled his abusive Philadelphia home to become an actor, dense-but-sweet Toby is living out of Lower Manhattan trash bins when he stumbles across photographer Les Galantine.

Played by Steve Buscemi, who looks like he's popping blood vessels in every scene, Les considers himself an artist, though almost all of his attention is on snapping stars when they don't want to be snapped. He reluctantly lets Toby crash at his putrid pad in return for assistant services, which the kid is inevitably too dumb to do right.

Toby does catch the eye, though, of a troubled pop princess called K'Harma (Alison Lohman, who appears to be going for the record of how many scenes an actress can do with her shirt off and still not reveal much more than a delightfully complex belly button). He also charms a soap opera producer or manager or something (Gina Gershon, who has one fabulous scene). Anyway, he's just shrewd and cuddly enough to romance his way to his dreams. Which, of course, leaves calculating operator Les seething.

Not much new here, although a few of Les' moments do cannily encapsulate the way paralyzing awe and theoretical equality work in the relationship between media jackals and their popular prey. It's not enough to make "Delirious" substantial, but it makes it a little more than merely diverting.

Bob Strauss [phone]

[e-mail]

DELIRIOUS - Two and one half stars

>Rating: Not rated: language, adult situations.

>Starring: Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Alison Lohman, Gina Gershon.

>Director: Tom DiCillo.

>Running time: 1 hr. 46 min.

>Playing: Laemmle Playhouse 7, Pasadena; Laemmle Sunset 5, West Hollywood, Laemmle Monica, Santa Monica.

>In a nutshell: Paparazzo takes in homeless guy, who then becomes an unlikely star in this mildly amusing, rather pointless show-biz-underbelly comedy.

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Michael Pitt, left, and Steve Buscemi star in "Delirious," a comic look at the problems in a paparazzo's life.