 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Coffee and Cigarettes - 5/14/04 - R - 101m
Bill Murray - Himself
Roberto Benigni - Himself
Iggy Pop - Himself
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Written by: Jim Jarmusch
Studio: MGM
Official
Website
JEF
I had not heard of this film until Lyn pointed it out to me by putting it on his “hit list” of films that he was looking forward to seeing. At the time I had a hard time finding a trailer for it online. My initial thought was “Cool!” Lyn just found another independent gem of a movie (Like Donnie Darko). But this film was not a gem.
Storyline: There was none! Ok, well if you take the fact that they all involve conversations between 2 or more people who happen to be sitting around drinking coffee and/or smoking, then perhaps that is a storyline. But there is no beginning middle or end to this. Composed of 11 shorts, that director Jim Jarmusch filmed over a course of 17 years!
I supposed this would fall into the “slice of life” category of films. Problem was, that the slices were not that interesting or entertaining.
It’s hard to even describe this film without describing each individual short. But it’s not really worth going into. There was no “moral” to the story. Unless I was thick headed that night, I didn’t pick up on any subtle “hidden meanings” to the film. I think it was just 11 shorts that focused around coffee and cigarettes.
Perhaps the only reason this film even saw the light of day (or darkness of a theatre) is because it had some star power. People like Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, just to name a few. But even these big names could not rescue a lame premise for a movie (whose original concept was meant to be a Saturday Night Live comedy sketch.)
Ok, sure, there were a few moments that made me chuckle, but certainly not worth putting up with the rest of the 80 or so minutes. I did like the short with Joe and Vinny, where they discuss how cigarettes are bad for you.
Perhaps one of the things that most annoyed me was the awkward pauses throughout most of the shorts. I’m sure this happens in real life but I wasn’t paying $9 for awkward silence. I wanted to be entertained, not think about how clever (or not) the screenplay was to use these awkward pauses.
I did like how it was all filmed in black in white. I wouldn’t mind seeing more black and white films. But again, this minor point was not worth seeing this film.
Finally, since the movie failed to leave the viewer with any sort of “moral to the story” I will leave my own here…
And
http://home.howstuffworks.com/caffeine.htm
Jef
