Shooting the Breeze. . .

Rating: 8/10 (11 November 2008)

Jim Jarmusch's "Coffee & Cigarettes" is a black & white series of vignettes between people meeting for caffeine & nicotine. And that's exactly how the movie plays... like an afternoon spent with a friend yakking about nothing... or everything. And just like those afternoons, some segments are better than others.
The shorts are a mix of styles... some are more glossy Hollywood with a scripted narrative, some feel more improvised or indie-style, and some have a distinctly New York vibe. I'm not sure the film hangs together... I'm not sure it's supposed to. Other reviewers here seem to dislike the movie for not being uniform in tone or coalescing into a grand theme or plot line. But be fair: Jarmusch never promised a wrapped package with interweaving story lines... this isn't a "Seinfeld." The joy of an anthology like this is that one chapter can be broad and comedic, and the next can go in a completely different direction. Perhaps some folks would have liked to see a cliff-hanging, on-again/off-again, will-they-or-won't-they love triangle, or maybe even a talking dog with a gangster attitude. They're in the wrong theater.
This is a movie I could picture adding to my DVD collection and enjoying in a different way every time I watch it... one day I might love one segment, a year later it's my least favorite. Contemplation is not a bad thing.
Neither is black & white... it helps to set the movie's tone of honesty, but unfortunately most people associate B&W with film noir- they think it means a movie is "dark." I think it just makes a movie more visceral... the tragedy is more heart-breaking, the comedy more crisp. In the oddball scene featuring Iggy Pop & Tom Waits I just enjoyed watching these two men sitting still in relative quiet in shades of black & white... it emphasizes the lines on Iggy's face from a lifetime of rock living and the furrowed brow on Tom Waits from his years of music/medicine. The slow pace also lets the actors b r e a t h e, so their dialogue is conversation, not characters spitting out exposition to set up the next plot point.
My highlights:
Strange To Meet You: Steven Wright's deadpan genius meets Roberto Benigni's electric comedian. One of the best in the film.
Somewhere In California: Tom Waits and Iggy Pop as unlikely "chums" who fail to hit it off...
Cousins: Cate Blanchett in a dual role as herself and her bitter Australian cousin. Brilliant...
Cousins?: Watching the worm turn can be so satisfying...
In conclusion I would not recommend this if you don't like offbeat films. But if you are feeling adventurous this is the perfect film to sample... especially on DVD. You can try a chapter, and if it doesn't engage you, CLICK- you can move directly to the next. You'll find something worth watching, at least...
Now where is that damn waiter with my coffee? GRADE: B