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Trees Lounge

Play trailer Poster for Trees Lounge R 1996 1h 34m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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81% Tomatometer 26 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Long Island loser Tommy (Steve Buscemi) is a hopeless alcoholic who loses his job for stealing from his boss, Rob (Anthony LaPaglia), who's now dating his ex, Theresa (Elizabeth Bracco). Tommy copes with his failures by hanging out at local dive Trees Lounge with friends he can barely stand. He takes a gig as the ice cream man, but he's awful with kids. The best thing in his life is a lukewarm romance with cool local girl Debbie (Chloë Sevigny), who, unfortunately, is Theresa's underage niece.
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Trees Lounge

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Steve Buscemi, who plays Tommy and also wrote and directed the film, knows about alcoholism from the inside out and backward, and his movie is the most accurate portrait of the daily saloon drinker I have ever seen. Rated: 3.5/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle Trees Lounge gives the appearance of being slight, spontaneous, and effortless. It would be easy to write off Buscemi's maiden effort as a serendipitous fluke, but just like that face of his, you know that surface values are merely the outer layer. Rated: 3.5/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com An impressive feature debut from indie icon Buscemi, a serio-comedy and character study of a barfly (played by Buscemi) and the entourage that frequents the same working bar day after day; John Cassavetes would have been proud of this film. Rated: B+ Jan 8, 2007 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Rated: 3/5 Nov 14, 2005 Full Review Michael Dequina TheMovieReport.com Not nearly as interesting as Buscemi's body of work in front of the camera. Rated: 2.5/4 Sep 14, 2005 Full Review Chuck O'Leary Fantastica Daily Rated: 3/5 Aug 31, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Maksim S A Little-Known Gem of Quiet Desperation. Trees Lounge is a quietly brilliant character study about Tommy, a middle-aged bartender whose life unravels through alcohol, dead-end jobs, and the hollow routines of small-town life. Steve Buscemi not only stars but directs and writes, delivering a painfully authentic portrait of stagnation and loneliness. Buscemi’s performance elevates the film from what could easily have been a mundane tale into a deeply human, often darkly funny meditation on friendship, failure, and fleeting moments of connection. Every nuance — the aimless conversations at the bar, the small triumphs, the subtle heartbreak — feels lived-in and real. It’s underappreciated, overlooked, and deserves far more attention than it gets. Trees Lounge is a small-town gem of a film, and Buscemi proves himself a master of understated, heartbreaking storytelling. Watch it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/02/25 Full Review Stephen C Funny in 1 hour and 34 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $673,300.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/22/25 Full Review john h Steve Buscemi delivers a surprising directorial debut which he writes and stars in. The portrayal of the life of an alcoholic slacker going in spirals is mesmerizing and absorbing. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/04/25 Full Review Isa B An accurate portrayal of daily alcoholism if I've ever seen one. The story is not only realistic, but also quite tense at times. Steve Buscemi was amazing as an actor, writer and director in this picture. Trees Lounge is a very good film. I love it! 90/100 Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 12/27/24 Full Review Bahad j This idea of ​​the film shooting technique director made the film more attractive to people. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/29/24 Full Review Bulgantamir B It was a movie that made me understand a lot Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/29/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Trees Lounge

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Cast & Crew

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Steve Buscemi

Director

Steve Buscemi

Tommy

Mark Boone Junior

Mike

Chloë Sevigny

Debbie

Michael Buscemi

Raymond

Anthony LaPaglia

Rob

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Trees Lounge

Trees Lounge (1996) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Long Island loser Tommy (Steve Buscemi) is a hopeless alcoholic who loses his job for stealing from his boss, Rob (Anthony LaPaglia), who's now dating his ex, Theresa (Elizabeth Bracco). Tommy copes with his failures by hanging out at local dive Trees Lounge with friends he can barely stand. He takes a gig as the ice cream man, but he's awful with kids. The best thing in his life is a lukewarm romance with cool local girl Debbie (Chloë Sevigny), who, unfortunately, is Theresa's underage niece.
Director
Steve Buscemi
Producer
Chris Hanley, Brad Wyman
Screenwriter
Steve Buscemi
Distributor
Orion Pictures, Artisan Entertainment, Live Entertainment
Production Co
Muse Productions, Live Entertainment
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 11, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 9, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$673.3K
Runtime
1h 34m
Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo
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