Coffee and Cigarettes: 7/10

Rating: 7/10 (12 November 2004)

Movies almost always follow a three act structure. Any that don't are usually considered avante-garde, and fail to get a receiving audience. Art house favorite Jim Jarmusch's latest film Coffee and Cigarettes doesn't follow that three act structure, but it's not as if people would flock to it anyway. And since Coffee and Cigarettes isn't linear, neither will this review. The movie's composed of 11 short sketches, all having to do with coffee and cigarettes. No other characters besides the main ones are seen (an aspect I liked), and the movie's filmed in some ultra-cool black and white.
In "Strange to Meet You", Roberto Benigni and Steven Wright randomly meet up in a coffee shop. Steven talks about how he drinks coffee before he sleeps, and they both are on obvious addictions to the title things. Steven mentions that he doesn't want to go to his dentist appointment, something that Roberto gladly does for him. This sketch is just kind of random (as all of them are)-they seem to have agreed to meet, yet don't know each other and have no purpose for meeting. The stuff discussed here will be discussed later, and as cool as Benigni is, there's just not really much of interest in this one.
Joie Lee, Cinqué Lee, and Steve Buscemi, in "Twins", are all great. Lee and Lee, twins, drink their coffee and chatterbox waiter Buscemi comes up to talk to them about how Elvis isn't actually dead-it's his twin. It's funny, it's entertaining, and it has Steve Buscemi in it. The Lees are also quite good for people I had never heard of. I think the key to this one was the coordination of the three of them, and it worked perfectly. One of my favorites from Coffee and Cigarettes.
Tom Waits and Iggy Pop talk about smoking, IHOP and Taco Bell, and various other things in "Somewhere in California". Some of the dialogue sounds almost like something Larry David would say ("Do I look like a Taco Bell kind of guy?"), and it's also quite funny. The last line is a great line, and the battling egos are fun to watch. It's probably the one with the least substance in it, but I liked it nonetheless.
"Those Things'll Kill Ya"-Joe Rigano and Vinny Vella talk about the addiction of cigarettes, when Vinny, Jr. comes in and asks for money. It's not interesting, is filled with no-names, and has no real purpose of existing. It's not witty, it's not observant, it's just there. It's like some other of the middle sketches-it's just bland, no distinctive characteristics to them.
In "Reneé", Renee French is a tomboyish kind of woman, reading about gun racks and such. She also is a perfectionist, and when the waiter (E.J. Rodriguez) pours her more coffee, she becomes belligerent. See comments about "Those Things'll Kill Ya".
Alex (Alex Descas) and Isaach (Isaach De Bankolé) meet in a restaurant after Alex calls Isaach. Isaach thinks something's wrong with Alex, but really Alex just wants to talk. Yet another of the "middle" sketches. Although you could say there's no point to the movie in general, there's especially no point in this one. Is it to show the paranoia of America? Or to outline the distrust we have in each other? Or is there just no reason for it at all?
In "Cousins", Cate Blanchett plays both a successful publicist and her estranged cousin, who meet for coffee. The rifts between the two are evident, as one is successful and one isn't. The more I think about it, the more I like it, although at the time it seems unimpressive. Everything that's said in that one is true, too, once you think about it. Might not be the most entertaining of the 11, but still a worthwhile one.
Jack and Meg White of The White Stripes talk about Tesla coils. Yawn.
Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan meet in "Cousins?", where Alfred brings up the point that they're distantly related. It's the longest out of all of them, for good reason, as it's fun to watch, and is probably second in the humor scale (next to "Delirium"). The way the tables turn at the end is a great twist, and actually shows the way of life in some Hollywood celebrities. It strays off of the topic, but it goes into interesting sidetracks. ("I love going to LA. I love leaving it even more.") The one you're probably expecting to be the best, and you may think so.
In "Delirium", the craziest out of all of them, GZA and RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan, after swearing off caffeine, meet Bill Murray (as a waiter, no less) at a cafè. They talk about how bad caffeine is, and how GZA is into alternative medicine, which culminates the skit in a morbidly hilarious way. It's easily the funniest of the 11, with all three of them being the stars. The way that GZA and RZA idolize Murray, and the complete absurdity of Murray being a waiter are comic genius. For me, the best one by far.
Lastly, in "Champagne", Bill Rice and Taylor Mead talk about imagining that their coffee is champagne. The sappiest of the 11, it's okay, but not really akin to my liking. Still, it's some people's favorite.
Overall, some of the parts of Coffee and Cigarettes are pure genius, whether hilarious or not. However, the other part of the time it just fizzles out to mediocrity. Still, I'd recommend watching at least a few of these segments, but maybe not in a row. There's no need to watch all of them.
My rating: 7/10
Rated R for language.