In the Soup

For the British film, see In the Soup (1936 film).

In the Soup is a 1992 independent comedy directed by Alexandre Rockwell, and written by Rockwell and Sollace Mitchell (credited as Tim Kissell).^[2] It stars Steve Buscemi as Aldolfo Rollo, a self-conscious screenwriter who has written an unfilmable 500-page screenplay and who is looking for a producer.

In the Soup
Directed by	Alexandre Rockwell
Written by	Tim Kissell Alexandre Rockwell
Produced by	Jim Stark Hank Blumenthal Chosei Funahara
Starring	Seymour Cassel Steve Buscemi Jennifer Beals
Cinematography	Phil Parmet
Edited by	Dana Congdon
Music by	Mader
Distributed by	Triton Pictures
Release dates	January 1992 (1992-01) (Sundance) October 23, 1992 (1992-10-23) (New York City)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$800,000
Box office	$256,249[1]

Plot

Tortured by self-doubt, financial ruin, and unrequited passion for his next door neighbor, Aldolfo Rollo places an ad offering his mammoth screenplay to the highest bidder. In steps Aldolfo's "guardian angel" Joe, a fast-talking, high-rolling gangster who promises to produce the film but has his own unique ideas regarding film financing.

Cast

• Steve Buscemi as Aldolfo Rollo
• Seymour Cassel as Joe
• Jennifer Beals as Angelica Pena
• Pat Moya as Dang
• Will Patton as Skip "Skippy"
• Sully Boyar as Old Man
• Steven Randazzo as Louis Barfardi
• Francesco Messina as Frank Barfardi
• Jim Jarmusch as Monty
• Carol Kane as Barbara
• Stanley Tucci as Gregoire
• Rockets Redglare as Guy
• Elizabeth Bracco as Jackie
• Debi Mazar as Suzie
• Sam Rockwell as Paulie
• Paul Herman as E-Z Rent-A-Car Clerk

Production

Facing financial struggles as a first-time filmmaker in New York City, writer-director Alexandre Rockwell found himself in a challenging situation, admitting to being penniless and even selling his saxophone to acquire more film stock. A person named Frank responded to one of his advertisements and took a liking to him, generously offering to cover the cost of one of his movies. Rockwell "loosely based" this film on that incident.^[3]

Principal photography predominantly occurred in New York City. Although shot on color film, Rockwell had no intention of releasing a color version in American theaters. Influenced by the stylized films of the 1930s and inspired by French directors François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, Rockwell deliberately opted for a high-contrast black-and-white palette. This choice aimed to impart a certain surreal quality to the images. The entire budget for the film, totaling $800,000, came from foreign investors. While color prints were available for foreign distributors and home video releases, the film's theatrical release in the United States maintained its black-and-white presentation.^[3]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10.^[4]

In popular culture

Alexandre Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Jennifer Beals, and Phil Parmet following a screening at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival

The film and its history are discussed in depth in John Pierson's account of the independent American film 'scene' of the late 1980s/early 1990s, Spike, Mike, Slackers, & Dykes: A Guided Tour Across a Decade of American Independent Cinema.

A Kickstarter project started in July 2017 with hopes of restoring the archival print and re-releasing the film for its 25th anniversary.^[5] The restored print was released by Factory 25 in 2018.^[6]