The Sublime Pleasure of Mixing Coffee, Cigarettes, and Conversation.
Added 12/18/2008
"Cigarettes and coffee, man. That's the combination."--Iggy Pop
This film is better than many reviewers claim. It is a film that will appeal to anyone who has ever experienced the aesthetic pleasure of having a conversation (no matter how inane) over coffee and cigarettes, or to anyone who has ever encountered the social awkwardness of enjoying a smoke amidst the anti-smoking hysteria and worldwide public smoking bans. In 2004 Jim Jarmusch (Stranger Than Paradise; Down by Law) released Coffee and Cigarettes, a collection of short vignettes, several of which had originally aired on Saturday Night Live in the late 80s and early 90s. Shot in black and white, the eleven short vignettes are linked thematically by characters drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. While some segments are stonger and wittier than others (Cousins, Somewhere in California, Delirium), and while many of the conversations are inane (much like life itself), the cumulative point of Jarmusch's film always remains clear: having a conversation over coffee and cigarettes is one of the most pleasurable experiences in life. When combined, caffeine and nicotine have the power to reveal the sublime humanity in the dreariness of human existence, a point the anti-smoking movement will never understand.
The eleven segments of Coffee and Cigarettes include:
1. Strange to Meet You, which features Roberto Benigni and Steven Wright;
2. Twins, which stars Joie Lee and Cinqué Lee as twins, and Steve Buscemi as a waiter who explains his theory of Elvis Presley's evil twin;
3. Somewhere in California, which features musicians Iggy Pop and Tom Waits, who having quit smoking, believe they are allowed just one more cigarette ("The beauty of quitting is, now that I've quit, I can have one, 'cause I've quit");
4. Those Things'll Kill Ya, which features Joseph Rigano and Vinny Vella, who discuss the health dangers of smoking;
5. Renée, which stars Renée French drinking coffee while reading a gun magazine;
6. No Problem, which features Alex Descas and Isaach De Bankolé as friends who meet and talk over some coffee and cigarettes;
7. Cousins, which stars Cate Blanchett plays both herself and her cousin Shelly, who meet for coffee in a hotel;
8. Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil, which features Jack and Meg White of The White Stripes having coffee and cigarettes;
9. Cousins stars British actors Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan, who discuss their careers over tea;
10. Delirium, which features GZA and RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, who drink caffeine-free herbal tea ("Crisp and clean, no caffeine") as their waiter, played by Bill "Groundhog-Day, Ghostbustin'-ass" Murray, who drinks coffee straight from the pot and suffers from a smoker's hack; and
11. Champagne, which stars William Rice and Taylor Mead who converse during a coffee break.
G. Merritt
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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An Off-beat, Hilariously Dry Study of Human Interaction
Added 8/1/2008
If you can only laugh at slap-stick comedic films, you will not like this very much. If you enjoy dry comedic films where the jokes come from the characters' personalities, facial features, and witty dialogues, then you will enjoy most, if not all, the sketches of this film. The comedy comes from what I mentioned before, but it's a better experience watching this movie if you know almost every actor involved. Don't get me wrong, even if you didn't know any actor in the sketches, you would still find this enjoyable due to the excellent interactions between the characters.
As the title I gave for this review suggests, this film is a simple observation of how incredibly hilarious ordinary conversation can be. Irony and awkwardness are prominent themes throughout each of the sketches, and you will want to find out how exactly each conversation ends. None of the sketches run too long because even the few minutes where the characters' are seemingly staring into space trying to figure out what to talk to each other about is completely essential to establish the realism of the situation.
If you find ordinary conversation amusing especially when the talkers are so involved in the conversation, then you will enjoy the sketches in this film. There are no explosions, nudity, scary moments, or even color, just great writing and characterization.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Different from the Usual
Added 5/26/2008
This film consists of several short segments, consisting of two main characters sitting at a table, drinking coffee (tea, in two segments) and most of them smoking cigarettes. There are few connections between the conversations from one segment to the others, aside from pointing-out that cigarettes and coffee aren't a good lunch, a couple of mentions of inventor Nicolas Tesla and coffee popsicles.
I will admit that this film isn't for everyone and also that I had a hard time writing this review. But, this film is entertaining for people willing to have an open mind about films that go outside the form most movies take. There are some very funny parts in "Coffee and Cigarettes" which had me laughing out loud and other parts where I could feel the discomfort of one character in their segment where the conversation seemed to touch a raw nerve in their companion or themselves. That uncomfortable moment occurs in many real life conversations where we don't know what to say next, if anything, to avoid hurting the other person's feelings.
This film has no definite beginning or ending and there is little in each segment to connect it with the others beyond the coffee (or tea) and cigarettes they are consuming.
Nevertheless, I liked the film and I recommend it to people who like to watch films that go outside the norm.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Go. Make art.
Added 4/25/2008
Seeing that it got quite a few 1 star ratings, I decided it needed more credit. The artists here are just excercising their creative urges to go beyond conventional mainstream film making and are having fun doing it. Who has a problem with that? The film follows in the tradition of Warhol's underground films where the movie maker simply puts a camera in front of a couple of actors and says, "Go. Make art" and the great actors start to improv. It's a great risk because it's either hit or miss. And of course in movie making we see mostly the hits thanks to editing. Of course it is a little tighter wound with more grace than the underground Warhol films (sorry Andy!). The film is about everyday normal conversations and situations involving cafes, coffee shops, at work, etc. where there is usually two people talking over a cup of java and smoking some cigs. Some conversations are small talk and shallow, while some other ones are existentialist and profound. It deals with the human condition and relationships and how that can be altered by the two drugs caffiene and nicotine. This film is risk taking at it's best. They went for broke. That's art. I think some viewers of the film thought, "Well, I could do that!" Well, they didn't, so they need to stop whining, get an artistic license, get on the ball, and get a life. Bravo for all the creative people of this film. Encore!
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Weird, But Worth It
Added 4/23/2008
Each vignette is basically the same: two people seemingly miscommunicating and casting oddly ominous glances at one or the other. I did enjoy the soundtrack, though, which fits the mood. There is no point to this film, but that's part of its charm. It all seems to add up to more than it appears, but it doesn't really. I can't discern a real message. But don't let that stop you from watching it. It's better than a big-budget Hollywood shoot-em-up.
2 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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