Coffee And Cigarettes Review
by Robin Clifford (robin AT reelingreviews DOT com)May 24th, 2004
"Coffee and Cigarettes"
Helmer Jim Jarmusch has marched to his own tune right from his Cannes winning feature, "Stranger Than Paradise," way back in 1983. He continues to follow his own vision and his latest is a compilation of 11 short vignettes that all have the same theme: "Coffee and Cigarettes."
The first of this series of kaffee klatch tales, "Strange to Meet You," was actually made nearly 20 years ago for "Saturday Night Live." Roberto (Roberto Benigni) and Steven (Steven Wright) meet at a little coffee shop and, as they smoke cigarettes and slug down espresso, talk about not much at all.
The second installment, "Twins," has a coffee-gulping, butt-smoking brother and sister (Cinque Lee and Joie Lee) lamenting their decision to move to Memphis. They are joined by an inquisitive waiter (Steve Buscemi) who notices that they are twins and proceeds to tell them the story about Elvis's evil twin brother who was responsible for the King's downfall.
Part three, "Somewhere in California," joins rock legend Iggy Pop and gravel-voiced Tom Waits as they discuss music and medicine. Waits regales his friend with his stories about the emergency roadside surgery he performed while on the way to their meeting. They then discuss the beauty of quitting smoking as the pair suck greedily on the coffin nails they purloin from an abandoned pack of the table.
"Those Things'll Kill Ya" pairs Joe Rigano and Vinny Vella meeting and arguing. Joe castigates Vinny for his continuing smoking habit while Vinny disses his friend for his caffeine dependency. Meanwhile, Vinny's son, the mute Vinny Jr., hits his old man up for some money and comes back with a bag of Japanese peas. Joe tries one, spits it out and claims he's poisoned. Vinny tells him that they are a delicacy.
The fifth entry has "Renee" (Renee French) sitting alone with her cup of coffee, cigarettes and handgun magazines. She is upset with the Waiter (E.J. Rodriguez) who, unsolicited, refills her cup and ruins what was a cuppa of perfect color and temperature.
Number six, "No Problem," is the meeting between Isaach (Isaach de Bankole) and Alex (Alex Descas, called for by Alex. Isaach is worried that his friend is in trouble despite the repeated assurances that there is no problem at all.
Episode seven, "Cousins," has Cate Blanchett doing double duty as herself and her cousin, Shelly. Things get tense as Shelly can barely hide her envy for her actress cousin's success. Things come to a head when Shelly realizes that Cate's gift of expensive makeup is nothing more than "swag" given to the star.
Eight, "Jack Shows Meg his Tesla Coil," stars Jack and Meg White of the band The White Stripes and their discourse revolves around Jack's prize possession – a Tesla machine (look it up on the web). Nikola Testa, Jack explains before demonstrating his toy, changed the world with his invention and perceived "the Earth as a conductor of acoustical resonance."
Number nine, "Cousins?" joins actors Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan as they get together in LA for tea. They have only a passing acquaintance but Alfred is all excited with the discovery that, way back in time, they are related. Steve resists Alfred's attempt at filial familiarity – until Alfred gets a phone call. Then the tables turn.
Part ten, "Delirium," has former Wu-Tang Clan members GZA and RZA discussing the merits of alternative medicine and how their lives were made better by eliminating caffeine. They are joined by Bill Murray, dressed as a waiter, who offers them some java. They refuse but he joins in on the discussion, drinking coffee from the pot.
Lastly, in number eleven, "Champagne," Taylor (Taylor Meade) tells Bill (Bill Rice) how he feels like Mahler's "I've Lost Track of the World," then they talk about Tesla's machine, earthly acoustical resonance and compare coffee and champagne.
These eleven little works, as one might expect, are an uneven collection with the central theme of coffee and smokes. These aren't earth-shattering subjects and the strength or weakness of each episode depends on the inventiveness of the dialogue and the charm of the players. Shot on grainy black and white film stock, "Coffee and Cigarettes" definitely has the look of a Jim Jarmusch effort, utilizing the minimalist style and deadpan dialogue of "Stranger Than Paradise."
I have a couple of favorites in the "C&C" collection, topping off with "Cousins?" Alfred Molina's almost childlike enthusiasm for his lineage discovery is beautifully opposed by Steve Coogan's droll, cynical and witty performance. It is quite the pleasure to watch such talented actors put forth so much complexity into such a short amount of screen time.
Bill Murray, RZA and GZA provide an unexpected and funny mix of characters. Why Bill Murray would be dressed as a waiter and appear to be in hiding is never explained and, when he starts to slug straight out of the pot, you forget to even ask the question. The music men strive to teach Murray about good health and how coffee can cause delirium. RZA and GZA talk nonstop, dispensing their wisdom to the always amusing Bill Murray.
As for the rest of the assembly, if you don't like one, wait a few minutes. Another will be right along. Each entry is but a few minutes long and there are enough good ones that the 96 minute runtime seemed to fly by. Besides the caffeine and nicotine themes in every episode there are also other concepts and jokes that appear time and again. Admonishments about coffee and cigarettes not being a healthy lunch is shrugged off be every smoker. Of course, Tesla's machine is discussed over and again, as is medicine and music.
Techs are simple and no fewer than four lensers participated in the making of "C&C" – Frederick Elmes, Ellen Kuras, Robby Muller and Tom DiCillo provide quite different looks to their individual sequences. Production designer Mark Friedberg gives each episode its own unique setting and décor.
"Coffee and Cigarettes" will attract fan's of Jim Jarmusch's quirky film style and offbeat humor. Some episodes are better than others and the couple I mentioned are near worth the price of admission. I give it a B-.
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