Tom Waits Week: Tom Onscreen

Short Cuts (1993) – Your enjoyment of this movie hinges on how you feel about director Robert Altman. I’m not a fan of his late-period storytelling, so I couldn’t bring myself to watch this three-hour behemoth again. Waits plays Earl Piggott, an abusive drunk, the husband of Lily Tomlin’s character. His few scenes are pretty brutal in their cruelty. The cast won a Golden Globe for Ensemble Performance, so thanks to Short Cuts, Tom Waits is an award-winning actor.