Health is strangely hip these days. There are low carb diets, macrobiotic diets, rocks stars who've gone vegan. Yoga has reached the suburbs, meditation is cool, and Buddhism-lite self-help books are bestsellers.
So it's a pleasure to retreat to Jim Jarmusch's black and white universe where thick black coffee sloshes onto dirty saucers and cigarette butts overflow from ashtrays. "Coffee and Cigarettes" is an odd, inscrutable film set where waiters spout theories about evil twins or do not appear at all, where food is never consumed and conversation is cryptic, circular, rich, and invariably dissatisfying.
"Coffee and Cigarettes" features an incredible cast of movie stars (including Steve Buscemi, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Roberto Begnini), hipsters (such as Ms. Renee French from New York), and musicians (Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, GZA and RZA.) There are eleven short films, all of them shot in black and white, with recurring elements of coffee and cigarettes and overhead shots of the crowded tables. Some of the episodes flat out don't work at all, but most of them do. From one scene to the next, you never know what to expect, and that's thrilling.
"Coffee and Cigarettes" features an incredible cast of movie stars (including Steve Buscemi, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Roberto Begnini), hipsters (such as Ms. Renee French from New York), and musicians (Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, GZA and RZA.) There are eleven short films, all of them shot in black and white, with recurring elements of coffee and cigarettes and overhead shots of the crowded tables. Some of the episodes flat out don't work at all, but most of them do. From one scene to the next, you never know what to expect, and that's thrilling.
I'm still giddy when I think of Bill Murray's characteristic deadpan shtick as "Bill-F***ing-Murray," the waiter in "Delirium." He sits down at the table with the Wu-Tang Clan, explains (sort of) that he is in hiding, and starts drinking coffee directly from the pot, to the sheer amazement of his customers.
In "Cousins," Cate Blanchett plays Cate, a successful actress who meets her cousin Shelly (also played by Cate Blanchett) during a break from a press junket. Cate, the actress, is polished and polite, whereas Shelly is defensive, angry and not altogether clean. The uncomfortable back and forth is hilarious.
"Twins" is another favorite. Cinque and Joie Lee are bored, irritable, and in Memphis. Their bickering is interrupted by the presence of the waiter (Steve Buscemi), who defends Elvis with an elaborate theory of an evil twin.
"Twins" is another favorite. Cinque and Joie Lee are bored, irritable, and in Memphis. Their bickering is interrupted by the presence of the waiter (Steve Buscemi), who defends Elvis with an elaborate theory of an evil twin.
In "Cousins?" Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan drink tea in a Los Angeles café (they are English after all). An egotistical Coogan balks when Molina, a virtual stranger, removes a researched family tree from his manila folder and calmly explains that he wants Coogan to love him.
There are many more wonderful moments to swoon over: Tom Waits matter-of-fact description of the emergency tracheotomy he gives on the way home from work or the mafiosa's son who likes to eat Japanese green pea snacks, but I'm already guilty of giving away too many of the good parts. Some of the short films failed to capture my interest. "No Problem," starring Isaach de Bankole and Alex Descas is an exercise in tedium, "Renee" simply doesn't work, and "Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil" (starring The White Stripes) felt overly long and too clever. The not-so-inspiring shorts only serve to show just how satisfying the good ones are.
There are many more wonderful moments to swoon over: Tom Waits matter-of-fact description of the emergency tracheotomy he gives on the way home from work or the mafiosa's son who likes to eat Japanese green pea snacks, but I'm already guilty of giving away too many of the good parts. Some of the short films failed to capture my interest. "No Problem," starring Isaach de Bankole and Alex Descas is an exercise in tedium, "Renee" simply doesn't work, and "Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil" (starring The White Stripes) felt overly long and too clever. The not-so-inspiring shorts only serve to show just how satisfying the good ones are.
