The new film “Saint John of Las Vegas” doesn’t dispel the notion independent films offer quirk for quirk’s sake.

The comedy, which played the last day at the 32nd annual Starz Denver Film Festival, could serve as the poster child for why audiences distrust indie fare.

The precious characters. Dramatic developments out of the clear blue sky. Comic sequences which all but cry out, “see how clever we are for making this all happen!”

And what a shame, since star Steve Buscemi is a character actor richly deserving of a leading man role.

“Saint John” casts Buscemi as the titular John, a man obsessed with lottery tickets to the detriment of his bank account – and personal life.

He’s just getting by working at an insurance company when the big boss (the great Peter Dinklage) dangles a job promotion before his eyes. All John has to do is travel to Las Vegas to prove an insurance claim is fraudulent.

His partner for the mission, a fraud specialist named Virgil (Romany Malco), doesn’t speak much or let John in on his methods.

That matters when John meets the woman accused of insurance fraud as well as a half dozen other characters meant to complicate John’s mission.

It starts with great promise, as writer/director Hue Rhodes sets up an intriguing framing device which lets Buscemi stake out his character’s sense of desperation. No one sweats on screen better than the bug-eyed actor.

And who can’t appreciate the black humor, and touch of sadness, in seeing a woman in a wheelchair give a lapdance?

Giving Dinklage a potent comic cameo also deserves applause. The diminutive actor would be a star if not for his non-traditional height.

But midway through this quasi road picture runs out of gas. John and Virgil meet members of a naked, Luddite style militia for no reason other than Rhodes must have thought it would be a scream.

Not quite, although Tim Blake Nelson gamely drops trow for the part as the militia point of contact. Sarah Silverman provides a jolt as John’s girlfriend, but her reasons for falling for him only make sense in the mind of a confused screenwriter.

Other, equally forced sequences follow, and that doesn’t count the narrative sucker punch which sends the film reeling to the canvas.

Buscemi grinds out his performance, desperate to anchor John with something, anything that explains his flaws. But the script never provides the necessary structure to make John worth our pity.

“Saint John of Las Vegas” comes certified cute and clever, but the false packaging reveals a hollow comedy without a heart.

(Photo: Sarah Silverman and Steve Buscemi make an unlikely couple in the new indie comedy “Saint John of Las Vegas.”/Circle of Confusion Films)

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