Coffee and Cigarettes | Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright

Coffee and Cigarettes | Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright | Weird, But Worth It

DVDs:

Coffee and Cigarettes

	Coffee and Cigarettes Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright MGM (Video & DVD), 2004 average customer review:based on 98 reviews view larger image
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Celebrated writer-director Jim Jarmusch (Mystery Train) serves up this witty and intoxicating brew that s as addictive as caffeine (Richard Roeper Ebert & Roeper and the Movies ) and as buzzy and ephemeral as well coffee and cigarettes (LA Weekly)! Sneakily delirious [and] way cool (Time) this funny cluster of eleven stories (Rolling Stone) delivers inspired eccentric match-ups (The Hollywood Reporter) from an incredible all-star cast making Coffee and Cigarettes an absolute must for fans of film fun and fantastic wit!Special Features:Theatrical Trailer Tabletops Bill Murray OuttakeTaylor Mead InterviewSystem Requirements: Running Time 97 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 027616911711 Manufacturer No: 1007030

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Go. Make art.

Seeing that it got quite a few 1 star ratings, I decided it needed more credit. The artists here are just excercising their creative urges to go beyond conventional mainstream film making and are having fun doing it. Whoever has a problem with that, needs to check their head. The film follows in the tradition of Warhol's underground films where the movie maker simply puts a camera in front of a couple of actors and says, "Go. Make art." This film is risk taking at it's best. They went for broke. That's art. I think some viewers of the film thought, "Well, I could do that!" Well, you didn't, so stop crying, get your artistic license, and get a life. Bravo for all the creative people of this film. Encore!

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Weird, But Worth It

Each vignette is basically the same: two people seemingly miscommunicating and casting oddly ominous glances at one or the other. I did enjoy the soundtrack, though, which fits the mood. There is no point to this film, but that's part of its charm. It all seems to add up to more than it appears, but it doesn't really. I can't discern a real message. But don't let that stop you from watching it. It's better than a big-budget Hollywood shoot-em-up.

An Off-beat, Hilariously Dry Study of Human Interaction

If you can only laugh at slap-stick comedic films, you will not like this very much. If you enjoy dry comedic films where the jokes come from the characters' personalities, facial features, and witty dialogues, then you will enjoy most, if not all, the sketches of this film. The comedy comes from what I mentioned before, but it's a better experience watching this movie if you know almost every actor involved. Don't get me wrong, even if you didn't know any actor in the sketches, you would still find this enjoyable due to the excellent interactions between the characters.
As the title I gave for this review suggests, this film is a simple observation of how incredibly hilarious ordinary conversation can be. Irony and awkwardness are prominent themes throughout each of the sketches, and you will want to find out how exactly each conversation ends. None of the sketches run too long because even the few minutes where the characters' are seemingly staring into space trying to figure out what to talk to each other about is completely essential to establish the realism of the situation.
If you find ordinary conversation amusing especially when the talkers are so involved in the conversation, then you will enjoy the sketches in this film. There are no explosions, nudity, scary moments, or even color, just great writing and characterization.

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Different from the Usual

This film consists of several short segments, consisting of two main characters sitting at a table, drinking coffee (tea, in two segments) and most of them smoking cigarettes. There are few connections between the conversations from one segment to the others, aside from pointing-out that cigarettes and coffee aren't a good lunch, a couple of mentions of inventor Nicolas Tesla and coffee popsicles.

I will admit that this film isn't for everyone and also that I had a hard time writing this review. But, this film is entertaining for people willing to have an open mind about films that go outside the form most movies take. There are some very funny parts in "Coffee and Cigarettes" which had me laughing out loud and other parts where I could feel the discomfort of one character in their segment where the conversation seemed to touch a raw nerve in their companion or themselves. That uncomfortable moment occurs in many real life conversations where we don't know what to say next, if anything, to avoid hurting the other person's feelings.

This film has no definite beginning or ending and there is little in each segment to connect it with the others beyond the coffee (or tea) and cigarettes they are consuming.

Nevertheless, I liked the film and I recommend it to people who like to watch films that go outside the norm.

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