The long-in-development directorial debut of Mark “the Fourth Avenger” Ruffalo, Sympathy For Delicious tells the story of a gifted DJ who’s fallen on hard times in the wake of an accident that’s left him confined to a wheelchair. Living out of his car, relying on the charity of a do-gooding priest (Ruffalo), things are pretty bleak for Delicious D (that’s his name!) until he finds that he has the power to heal the sick with a laying on of hands—a power that  cannot be applied to his own devastating malady. Further embittered by this cruel twist of fate, D nonetheless offers his healing hands to the downtrodden masses of the streets, but it isn’t long before an opportunistic indie rock band offers him a second shot at stardom if he’ll exploit his gift on-stage for a lucrative music/evangelism fest called Healapalooza. But does his salvation lie in the soulless glow of the limelight or back in the squalor of skid row?

Writer-star Christopher Thornton gets points for a divertingly quirky set-up and for treading into some intriguing conceptual territory. Unfortunately, we’ll have to dock more than a few for the flick’s overriding incoherence and the insurmountable fact that, in the end, Delicious D just ain’t all that sympathetic. Hit the jump for the full review.

The independent drama Sympathy for Delicious marks the feature directorial debut for actor Mark Ruffalo, from a script written by his friend of 20 years, Christopher Thornton, who also stars in the film. The story follows Dead O’Dwyer (Thornton), also known as “Delicious D,” an up-and-coming DJ on the underground music scene in Los Angeles, until a motorcycle accident leaves him paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Now living in his car on skid row, Father Joe Roselli (Mark Ruffalo) tries to steer Dean down a better path, and soon discovers that he possesses the otherworldly power to heal people. When Dean decides to turn his back on the priest and exploit his gift, joining a rock band led by frontman The Stain (Orlando Bloom) and bass player Ariel (Juliette Lewis), he becomes increasingly frustrated at his inability to heal himself.

At the film’s press day, Mark Ruffalo and Christopher Thornton talked about the 10-year journey from script to screen, overcoming the trepidation and fear in being the one at the helm, improvising when necessary, and keeping the end of the film intact, even with all of the rewrites the script went through. Mark also talked about the preparation he’s currently going through to take on the role of The Hulk in Joss Whedon’s upcoming The Avengers. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

The first trailer for Mark Ruffalo’s directorial debut Sympathy for Delicious has been released. The film tells the story of a paralyzed DJ (played by the film’s scribe, Christopher Thornton) who somehow acquires the ability to heal, though is unable to make himself walk. Judging from the trailer, Ruffalo definitely shows some promise as a director. Factor in the top-notch cast, and I’m very interested in seeing how this film plays out. The flick premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January where it took home the Special Jury Prize.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. Sympathy for Delicious stars Mark Ruffalo, Christopher Thornton, Orlando Bloom, Juliette Lewis, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich and John Carroll Lynch.

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival isn’t heating up-it’s heated.  The Festival kicks off tonight and will run through January 31st.  Steve will be there (as soon as his flight stops getting delayed) and will bring you loads of interviews and his thoughts on the films making their debuts.  I’ll be here in Atlanta, seething with jealous rage.  This rage is exacerbated when I see clips from Mark Ruffalo’s directing debut, Sympathy for Delicious, the rock biopic The Runaways, and the trailer for Exit Through the Gift Shop, the first film from brilliant street artist Banksy.

After the jump you’ll find nine clips (in one player) for Sympathy for Delicious, starring Ruffalo, Juliette Lewis, Laura Linney, Christopher Thornton, and Orlando Bloom.  We’ve also got a clip from The Runaways starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning (you can also check out the eight high resolution images from the film that Steve posted yesterday).  Finally, we also have the trailer for Last Exit Through the Gift Shop.  I’ve also included the official synopsis for each film.