kenjisan

Movie Review: Coffee and Cigarettes

Coffee and Cigarettes is not for everyone. Featuring a handful of (dis)connected skits of actors and musicians playing themselves, Jarmusch’s latest moves at an almost painstakingly slow pace, hurling ever so leisurely towards… something? I saw this movie a couple weeks ago with Dre, Cyndi, and Little Tighe, and in the end, we left the Shirlington theatre happy to have seen it, but not quite sure why. We struggled to make sense of it, and in the end, decided to throw out that fruitless quest and talk about the things we liked.

Some of the vignettes are wonderful. Some I could have done without. In particular, I was pretty disappointed with the Iggy Pop and Tom Waits skit. Two great musicians meet in a bar over coffee and cigarettes (surprise, surprise) and have a very awkward conversation about… not a whole lot, really. Could have been great. Wasn’t. I’d say half of the miniature acts fall into this category: awkward, slow, potentially interesting, but ultimately boring.

Still, there were a few skits that made it all worthwhile, and they were the ones that we kept talking about. The great Bill Murray runs into Wu-Tang’s RZA and GZA as he masquerades as a waiter in a chef’s hat. Jack and Meg White prove that they are much more than just musicians. And in my favorite sketch, beautiful Cate Blanchett has an uncomfortable conversation with her cousin, Shelby, played by Cate Blanchett.

I liked Coffee and Cigarettes and, like I said before, I don’t know why. Movies.com, if you’re unsure how to categorize me, I’m mixed, I suppose.