Coffee and Cigarettes

In all honesty I just wanted to watch this movie to see Iggy Pop, Tom Waites, The White stripes and Bill Murray. I was tempted to fast forward all the other vignettes to get to the ones with these characters in but thankfully I never or I would never have seen 'cousins?' -- Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan playing themselves in an absolutely perfect portrayal of the shallow, sickening and repellent nature that comes with fame. Coogan takes the word 'scumbag' to new heights, and Molina's keenness and almost innocence which slowly turns sour is perfectly pitched. Jarmusch has managed to capture the minutia of the trappings of fame so succinctly that sometimes it's difficult to watch. It's excruciatingly embarrassing but just gorgeous and has to be seen -- several times.

Likewise with 'somewhere in California'. Iggy and Tom play themselves but you can call Iggy Jim or Jimmy or Iggy or Jiggy if you like! Tom initially opts to call him Iggy but proceeds to refer to him as Jim throughout, and so the off-kilter banter begins. It's an hilarious portrayal of two guys who obviously have a mutual respect for each other's work but don't actually know each other that well. A series of ridiculous conversations and awkward silences ensue with Iggy becoming more and more animated and expressive to over-compensate for Tom's laidback yet defensive attitude. There are some excellent one-liners and it's just great watching these two giants chew the fat, fighting their different corners and trying to keep their cool.

I also thought Cate Blanchett shone in 'cousins', playing both roles as bitter cousin/ insipid famous cousin. It's another awkward, horrible meeting between two people -- one has made it, the other hasn't, and It's plain to see there isn't much love between them. We witness a series of underhand, loaded and nasty comments all in the guise of friendship, a friendship that only exists due to family ties.

Coffee and cigarettes the movie is a bit like coffee and cigarettes the vice: you'll get a buzz that's for sure. It's is an easy watch and each vignette has its qualities but as a whole it's a bit of a cheeky movie. It gets off on the fact that it has all these fab artists starring in it which goes a long way but not far enough. But I can't stress enough that it really is worth getting this movie out for the Coogan/Molina and Pop/Waites vignettes. Both priceless and essential viewing.

"Coffee and Cigarettes" (2004) written and directed by Jim Jarmush is a very simple movie shot in B/W, a typical in the good sense independent movie. It is a collection of eleven shorts where famous actors, comedians, rock-stars, and musicians played themselves. They drink coffee (lots of it), smoke, and talk. While each segment is short, we still can learn a lot about human nature.

I read some comments and was surprised that there are so many negative opinions. Some users think that the movie was slow - I did not even notice how the time flew. Of eleven shorts, six were wonderful, and the rest - quite watchable. After I finished watching it, I started all over and watched the ones that I loved for a second time. The best, IMO are "Somewhere in California" with Iggy Pop and Tom Waits, "Cousins" - (Cate Blanchette plays a dual role - herself and her not so successful cousin, and she is as good as ever in the dual performance); "These Things Will Kill You" (Joe Rigano, Vinny Vella, and Vinny Vella, Jr), "Cousins?" – easily the best in the bunch (Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan), "Delirious" – the funniest (RZA, GZA, and Bill Murray), and the final one, the elegiac "Champagne" – (Bill Rice and Taylor Mead).

An odd concept for a film, Coffee and Cigarettes can be seen as either one of two ways. On one hand a dark, clever, ingenious piece of cinema, or on the other hand a dark, clever, ingenious piece of cinema. Jarmusch has succeeded in gathering as diverse a cast as you're ever likely to see, the site of GZA, RZA, and Bill Murray waxing intellectual over smokers cough and herbal medicines is enough to interest even the most fervent sceptic of such work. Even the Cate Blanchett (whom i'm not a huge fan of) scene was so well set up and written (or improvised, who knows) that you find your self unable to turn away, so intent are you on what she has to say next. Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan are so wonderful as over blown versions of themselves, Coogan as a super arrogant celebrity and Molina as a bumbling, sweet, excitable actor. Together they form what would be the best scene of the whole film, that is if it wasn't for Iggy and Tom. Ah Iggy and Tom, such characters, such dialogue, such a beautifully surreal piece. Iggy (or Jim to his friends) is more like an over nervous school boy than an ageing rock star, and Tom is strong as the defensive perfectionist. All in all this film succeeds in what it tries to do, if you like dark surreal comedy then you'll like this. Be warned though it will give you a craving for Coffee and Cigarettes.

I loved this movie. Okay, I loved about 75% of it. But I'm glad I saw all of it. I don't smoke, I only drink coffee when it's dressed up in a frilly disguise, and I didn't recognize everyone in the film, nor did I much care about that. I didn't recognize the writer/director's name, though I really enjoyed Night on Earth and Dead Man, and now I know his name. It was just so good to see this parade of tense interaction, waiting on or predicting what would come next. I loved how some of the moments in the first vignette were mimicked in a later one by an entirely "different" set of people.

I loved the stark interruptions of uncomfortableness, loved watching all the people pour their coffee or tea, loved the hilarious facial expressions of Molina and Coogan--it seemed to me they were portraying the two most extreme British stereotypes interacting with each other, and it was clearly fun for them.

I enjoyed the cheap, gritty sets, the introductions and goodbyes. I am not sure who the movie would best play for; as I sat and thought about who to share it with, only members of my own family came to mind. We're all a bit quirky, so the best way I can put it is that maybe if you like the "mockumentaries" of Christopher Guest, but can appreciate an even darker twist, you'll have a laugh at this.

The boring parts were the shortest, and the vignettes I liked best were so much fun it was worth the whole picture to see them.

Short films with nonsense dialogue of shifting dignity. Lots of self irony or even self sarcasm. Tom Waits is mocking with Iggy Pop in a way that it's hard to believe they ever can talk to each other again. Bill Murray is pulling the leg of the hip hop movement and the movement finds that funny. Cate Blanchett is on a genial level playing the double part of the filmstar and her jealous cousin.

Jim Jarmusch can't be beaten. The dialogue seems to be mostly improvised, but the concept is not. Every short chapter here has a meaning and gives us something to think about. The films are in black and white, like coffee and cigarettes and that still is, and will always be, a way of pushing things harder. This is very much comedy and very much serious.