LONESOME JIM

Small-town daily life is no day at the spa, but in the hands of Steve Buscemi and a fine ensemble of actors, it can be serious fun. Jim, played by Casey Affleck, is an aspiring writer who left the barrens of Indiana for New York City. Like most young writers who don?t have a clue, Jim left behind a rich array of material to write about. This revelation, among others, take him awhile to figure out when he returns home to ?have a breakdown? at his mother?s feet. Mary Kay Place is pitch-perfect as his mother–a perennial font of sunshine; she refuses to let anything ruin her mood, including her petulant husband (Seymour Cassel), or her moribund son (Kevin Corrigan), who has also moved back home with his two daughters. Jim?s hopes of being laid up and idle are dashed when his brother is in a car crash and his mother needs help at the family business. For pure comic relief there is ?Evil,? Jim?s dope-smoking uncle whose antics are frosting on this Midwestern confection. Jim?s life brightens a bit when he begins dating Anika (Liv Tyler), a no-nonsense nurse with an adorable son. She even ?ruins? Jim?s ?wall of shame? ? images of all his favorite depressing writers ? by putting a smile on Hemingway?s face. Is all this quirkiness enough to quench Jim?s thirst, or is he hitting the road again?