Coffee and Cigarettes (2004)

It is a performances centric movie

Don't Believe the Hype

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

This movie is strangely calming yet intriguing. First watch and I already feel up for a second watch. It just... well.. nice. The concept of coffee and cigarettes just fits so nicely together you just wish you were there with them. The strong irony is palpable and catches your attention in such a way that's extremely interesting. I just love how this movie is so different than others from the way it's structured to the dialogue.

Not good at all, drab and boring, which life really isn't. I thought it sounded like a nice simple idea, which would probably either be warm and life affirming or darkly funny (or possibly a bit of both), and definitely topped off with a healthy sprinkling of insight. Needless to say I was a bit disappointed.Before watching this I'd always assumed it would be pretty hard to go wrong with dialogue. There are plenty of films in existence with less than great dialogue, but in the past I'd always been able to accept that it had been neglected in favour of other things, like car chases (where I guess chatting isn't really conducive anyway). Oh well, I guess writing a decent chin wag must be harder than it looks.

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

Believe it or not, but this must be one of the funnies movies I've ever seen. A mix of stories where the actors and musicians (Bill Murray, RZA, GZA, Steve Buscemi, Roberto Benigni, Jack and Meg White from The White Stipes, Tom Waits and Iggy Pop, Alfred Molina etc.), who are talking about different things while drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. You probably think you can't make a movie about that but Jarmusch succeed in bringing a fresh mix of comedy, drama, music about nothing and everything. The conversations in the movie are mostly funny (conspiracy theories about Elvis and his evil twin is one of the best), but all the stories in the movies are not all that great (I found a story with Cate Blanchett a bit boring), but most of them are bringing very unique movie. You can't believe you can make a watchable movie about drinking and smoking. Well... Jarmusch is really a genius and C & S one of my favorite movies.