''Somebody to Love'' is a 1994 American romantic-

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Alexandre Rockwell Charles Alexandre Rockwell is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and professor. Life and career Alexandre Rockwell is best known for his independent films made in NYC with a small group of actors he met on the lower east side in ...

. It is inspired by Federico Fellini's ''

Nights of Cabiria ''Nights of Cabiria'' ( it, Le notti di Cabiria) is a 1957 drama film co-written and directed by Federico Fellini. It stars Giulietta Masina as Cabiria, a prostitute living in Rome. The cast also features François Périer and Amedeo Nazzari. ...

''. It entered the competition at the

51st Venice International Film Festival The 51st annual Venice International Film Festival was held on 1 September to 12 September, 1994. Jury The following people comprised the 1994 jury: * David Lynch (head of jury) * Olivier Assayas *Margherita Buy *Gaston Kaboré *Nagisa Oshima * ...

Premise

Mercedes ( Rosie Perez) is a

taxi dancer A taxi dancer is a paid dance partner in a partner dance. Taxi dancers are hired to dance with their customers on a dance-by-dance basis. When taxi dancing first appeared in taxi-dance halls during the early 20th century in the United States, mal ...

who wants to be an

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. She's involved with a married man named Harry (

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...

), who considers himself to be respected

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. Ernesto (

Michael DeLorenzo Michael DeLorenzo (born October 31, 1959) is an American actor, director, writer, producer, dancer, and musician. He is known for his work in television and film. Early life DeLorenzo was raised in The Bronx, New York. His late father, Arthur De ...

) is in love with Mercedes, but he doesn't dance or have money.

Cast

* Rosie Perez as Mercedes *

as Harry Harrelson *

Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...

as Emillio *

as Ernesto * Steve Buscemi as Mickey *

Stanley Tucci Stanley Tucci Jr. ( ; born November 11, 1960) is an American actor and filmmaker. Involved in acting from a young age, he made his film debut in John Huston's '' Prizzi's Honor'' (1985), and continued to play a variety of supporting roles in fil ...

as George *

Gerardo Mejía Gerardo Mejía (born April 16, 1965 Billboard.com – Biography – Gerardo Retrieved September 22, 2008.), better known by his mononym Gerardo, is an Ecuadorian-born American rapper, singer and actor who later became a recording industry execut ...

as Armando * Steven Randazzo as Nick *

Paul Herman Paul Herman (March 29, 1946 – March 29, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for playing Randy in David O. Russell's dramedy '' Silver Linings Playbook'' (2012) and Whispers DiTullio in Martin Scorsese's crime epic ''The Irishman ...

as "Pinky" * Samuel Fuller as Sam Silverman *

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

as The Bartender *

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in independent films and also as a character actor portraying a wide variety of roles both comedic and dramatic in films such as '' Lawn Dogs'' (19 ...

as Polish Guy *

Victor Argo Victor Argo (November 5, 1934 – April 7, 2004) was an American actor of Puerto Rican descent who usually played the part of a tough bad guy in his movies. He had a career span of forty years. He is best known for '' Mean Streets'' (1973), ...

as Santa Claus *

Elizabeth Bracco Elizabeth Bracco is an American actress best known for her role as Marie Spatafore, the wife of Vito Spatafore, on the HBO TV series ''The Sopranos''. Early life Bracco is the daughter of Eileen (née Molyneux) and Salvatore Bracco, Sr. Sh ...

as Taxi Dancer * Brie Howard as Band Member *

Yul Vazquez Yul Vazquez (born March 18, 1965) is a Cuban-American actor and musician. He has appeared in '' Runaway Bride'' (1999), ''Bad Boys II'' (2003), ''War of the Worlds'' (2005), '' American Gangster'' (2007), ''The A-Team'' (2010), '' Captain Philli ...

as The Waiter

References

External links

* 1994 films American romantic drama films 1994 romantic drama films Films directed by Alexandre Rockwell 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{1990s-romantic-drama-film-stub