Self Indulgence - How to make a non-script INTO a script

Early on I got a Ground-hog Day moment- This is a movie based on a writer's inability to work up a complete coherent script. He makes the making of the script the subject hence any script problems become movie anecdotes. That means he's not locked into the internal logic that binds 99 percent of theater and to those who don't 'get it' the response is that it was too highbrow, too 'Characters in search of an Author'. I like the actors in this movie, but not the acting. I think it was much ado but signified nothing.
At least it was a payday for Tom Waits.