Coffee And Cigarettes Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)June 2nd, 2004
COFFEE AND CIGARETTES
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Wouldn't you love to see a series of screen tests by a bunch of good actors? Jim Jarmusch's COFFEE AND CIGARETTES, a series of vignettes whose only common theme is that of coffee and cigarettes, plays like a group of actors giving their best effort for ten minutes or so in order to win some coveted role. These aren't audition tapes, but the actors really do give it their comedic all. The movie is shot strictly in black and white, just like my favorite Jarmusch film, DEAD MAN, a bizarre Western starring Johnny Depp. It's a weird, must-see picture for cinema buffs.
Although the eclectic list is long, the actors in COFFEE AND CIGARETTES include Roberto Benigni, Cate Blanchett, Steve Buscemi, Bill Murray and Iggy Pop. Another recurring theme in the wacky stories, full of deliciously dry humor, is about "earth as a conductor of acoustical resonance." Don't ask. I'll never be able to explain it to you.
My favorite episode has Alfred Molina, the actors mainly play themselves, meeting a too-busy-to-be-bothered Steve Coogan over tea -- the British equivalent of coffee. Making nervous small talk, Coogan says that, if he ever wins an Oscar, he'll take his time on stage to teach Americans how to make a decent cup of tea. A pompous Coogan wants to drink his tea and leave, but Molina has a big secret to tell him. Using genealogical research, Molina has determined that they are cousins since they share a common great-great-great-grandfather. Since they're related, maybe they should make a movie about it and play themselves in it, reasons Molina. Coogan, obviously ready to bolt, has only one question. He wants to know if Molina is gay, which he says he isn't. The best line comes when Coogan refuses to give out his home phone number. "I once didn't give my number to Sam Mendes," he tells Molina.
Another segment discusses the effects of coffee on the body. One guy says that he takes it right before bed, which makes his dreams speed by like Indy 500 racecars. He has a piece of advice for Bill Murray, which you probably shouldn't practice at home -- oven cleaner can be used as a treatment for smoker's cough. Still, this thought might make the basis for an effective public service announcement against the hazards of smoking. If you had to spray oven cleaner in your mouth to cure your cough, maybe fewer kids would get hooked on tobacco.
COFFEE AND CIGARETTES runs 1:36. It is rated R for "language" and would be acceptable for teenagers.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the Camera Cinemas.
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