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Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
4/19, 8/20
4/19:
After completing Stranger Than Paradise, Dead Man, and
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, I'm starting to
see how good of a director Jim Jarmusch is when it comes to style.
The way Jim Jarmusch has his films photographed in black and white is top shelf. There's something unique that he brings out from
each. It's been the same again for Coffee and Cigarettes which features eleven highly uneven vignettes that were shot over
seventeen years. So, I'll go through them one by one:
Strange to Meet You: This is the funniest and almost the best vignette which is the original going back to 1986 when
nobody knew who Roberto Benigni was. I still can remember his wackiness when he walked atop people during the 1999 Oscars show.
In this, I'm quite sure that Roberto didn't understand a word Steven Wright was saying. Nevertheless, both are funny.
Twins: The actual quote of what Elvis Presley supposedly said was, "The only thing Negroes can do for me is buy my
records and shine my shoes." It's been debunked for decades, and he would've never said anything like it. The part that
Elvis had a twin brother who was a stillbirth is true though.
Somewhere in California: Shot in 1995, it's nice to see Iggy Pop and Tom Waits
make something out of nothing during an awkward encounter while having no willpower when it comes to quitting smoking.
Those Things'll Kill Ya: Starting out on a bad foot, it wins me over with great performances by the three Italians.
They have good lines as well.
Renée: So boring and a waste of time although I get the point.
No Problem: It's worse than the last one and can be safely cut out.
Cousins: This vignette is among the top three. Cate Blanchett is so good that the way the other person looked
had me thinking if it was indeed her, too, which turned out to be the case. Hence, what a performance. It underscores the
mantra that attitude is everything. My favorite part is: after Cate left, Shelley was told that there's no smoking
allowed in the lounge. Talk about killing it.
Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil: Pointless.
Cousins?: By far the best vignette, if I'll watch the movie again, this is the chief reason. It's so good
that Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan (Who the hell is he? The other guy is a famous actor who appeared in
Raiders of the Lost Ark and
Prick Up Your Ears. Now, get the fuck out of here.) should have been Oscar-nominated.
How Steve got exposed for his snobbery is worth the price of admission when he got excited after overhearing Spike's name
during the phone call.
Delirium: It's so bad that a pattern has started to emerge by now: black people have the worst vignettes.
Champagne: What a terrible way to wrap it up which put me to sleep.
The final result is: four great vignettes, two so-so, and five awful, hence my rating of '6'.
All in all, Coffee and Cigarettes can be engaging at times but is very uneven.
8/20:
Yeah, okay...Jim Jarmusch specializes in pointless black-and-white indie pictures.
As many movies as I've seen of his, I've kept hoping there's some kind of insight or at least go somewhere, but they never do.
The only exception is Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai which is when the director finally got his shit together.
As for Coffee and Cigarettes, the only one worth watching is "Cousins?" This vignette could've been submitted for
Best Short Films, earning Jarmusch an Academy Award win. Of course, he could throw in another that featured Cate Blanchett who played
two different characters at the same time. I don't know how she pulled it off because I can't see a split of two screens or
something to that effect. But the rest of the anthology is pointless and can be safely discarded.
All in all, you should fast forward Coffee and Cigarettes until the two aforementioned shorts, and you'll be done
with the film in no time.