Coffee and Cigarettes
by Jim Jarmusch
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DVD details
Actor: Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Roberto Benigni, RZA, Tom WaitsDirector: Jim Jarmusch
Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
Writer: Jim Jarmusch
Producer: Birgit Staudt
Producer: Demetra J. MacBride
Producer: Gretchen McGowan
Producer: Jason Kliot
Producer: Jim Stark
Producer: Joana Vicente
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-09-21
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of Coffee and Cigarettes
DVD Review: Unintelligent and Poorly Executed
Summary: 2 Stars
Coffee and Cigarettes consists of vignettes wherein a few people sit around a table in assorted cafes and lounges, smoking and drinking coffee. For a film director, I can imagine that this would be an exciting and daunting format for a film- the kind that tests a director's undiluted skills in the areas of story, character, and camera work. No big budgets, confusing schedules, or complicated story lines. With Coffee and Cigarettes, Jim Jarmusch essentially lays his talent bare, but the results aren't good.
It is not difficult to see what is wrong with the film. Jarmusch's vignettes lack purpose, compelling characters, or an interesting plot. Some vignettes are clearly worse than others, and perhaps one or two may strike a chord with the viewer, but in general, the vignettes are boring and unfocused. The problem lies singularly with the director and not with the performances. Accomplished actors like Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, Alfred Molina, and Roberto Benigni and hard-working musicians, Meg and Jack White, Tom Waits, RZA and GZA (of Wu-Tang Clan) and Iggy Pop do their best to act in scenes that are hampered by poor conception and execution.
The first scene, like most of the vignettes, involves two characters who lack distinctive personalities failing to connect with each other even in the slightest way. If the film has a theme than disconnection is it, but the manner in which the characters fail to connect is humorless, obvious, and lazy. The worst revolves around two men with French accents wherein the one man consistently asks "What's wrong?" To which the other man says "Nothing." There is no point, no subtext, nothing rich or dense to enliven the scene. Another awful one is a proclamation of Italian-American stereotypes. An old man and another old-ish Italian guys say "Quit f-ing smoking!" in thick Brooklyn accents. It's like a scene from The Sopranos as directed by a twelve year old.
There was one vignette that I found moderately amusing involving Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan. Molina, like all the celebrities in the film, plays himself- as a mushy and overly earnest geneological freak who finds out that he and Steve Coogan (the actor from 24-Hour Party People) are distant cousins. Coogan, who portrays himself as caddish and egotistical finds himself freaked out by Molina's suggestions that they vacation together, and only becomes interested in Molina after he finds out that he and Spike Jonze (who he deems cool) are friends. The scene is intelligent because Molina and Coogan both play imperfect men who fail to get what they want from each other. Coogan also gives a wonderful performance full of a posh, snarly kind of charisma.
The other scene that I liked involves Iggy Pop and Tom Waits. Waits depicts himself as a total passive-aggressive jerk while Iggy Pop is goofy and eager-to-please. This scene involves the best (and pretty much the only) good line in the film. After Iggy Pop says as an aside "I didn't see your records in the jukebox," Waits responds with hostility: "Well we could always go to Taco Bell..." My favorite line is then, when Iggy, astounded says, "What, are you saying that I'm a Taco Bell kind of guy?!!!" Iggy Pop's delivery is hilarious. Still, the bad in this film overwhelmingly outweigh the good. I do not recommend.
Description of Coffee and Cigarettes
Celebrated writer-director Jim Jarmusch (Mystery Train) serves up this witty and intoxicating brew that's "as addictive as caffeine" (Richard Roeper, "Ebert & Roeper and the Movies") and "as buzzy and ephemeral as, well, coffee and cigarettes" (LA Weekly)! "Sneakily delirious [and] way cool" (Time), this "funny cluster of eleven stories" (Rolling Stone) delivers "inspired eccentric match-ups" (The Hollywood Reporter) from an incredible all-star cast, making Coffee and Cigarettes an absolute must for fans of film, fun and fantastic wit!Now here is a movie that's practically perfect for DVD. Shot over many years with eccentric actors, Jim Jarmusch's collection of black-and-white vignettes is as uneven as a collection of music videos (without songs). Even with the dull spots and the drop-dead-hip ambiance, there's something touching about this parade of frazzled people holding on to their coffee and cigarettes like life rafts--especially in the final sequence with Taylor Mead. There are some severely misconceived pieces, but the best are a treat: Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan in a hilarious Hollywood encounter, Tom Waits and Iggy Pop getting off on the wrong foot in a funky diner, and Cate Blanchett doing a dual role as herself and a jealous cousin. Bill Murray can't save one underwritten piece, but Jack and Meg White are amusing in an absurdist blackout. Use the Scene Selection menu, and revel in the fetishizing of java and butts. --Robert Horton
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