Starring Steve Buscemi and Romany Malco. Rated PG. Opens Friday, February 5, at the Cinemark Tinseltown

Dante’s nine circles of hell form concentrically around you know where in Saint John of Las Vegas, starring Steve Buscemi as John Alighieri. He’s a sad-sack former compulsive gambler holding down a steady job adjusting insurance claims in New Mexico and vying for the attentions of his slinky cubicle mate (Sarah Silverman).

We don’t know why he took a right turn at Albuquerque, but the guy is only a few scratch cards away from falling off the wagon that hauled him out of Vegas in the first place. So it can’t be good when his glib boss (funny Peter Dinklage) ups him to the fraud division, with his first gig sending him straight back to the old LV.

As in Fargo, Buscemi’s character is paired with a taciturn driving partner in the form of senior investigator Virgil (Weeds’ resourceful Romany Malco). The latter is stingy with information and per diems as the mismatched duo looks into the car-injury claims of a lap dancer (Emmanuelle Chriqui) semi-working at the most forlorn strip club in the desert.

Along the way, our boys also run into a mean junkyard dog, a self-immolating circus performer (John Cho), and some nude macho-man naturalists—so if you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to see Tim Blake Nelson nude, look no further. Seriously, look no further!

Saint John faintly recalls the neoclassical ramblings made by Nelson and his pals in O Brother, Where Art Thou? But first-time feature maker Hue Rhodes is more adept at devising bizarre situations, startling images, and nice bits of actorly business than finding emotional resonance or big belly laughs. The comedy is less than divine, but Rhodes’s talents may yet prove colossal—after a few more rolls of the dice.