COFFEE AND CIGARETTES (2004) ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
D: Jim Jarmusch
Roberto Benigni, Bill Murray, Steven Wright,
Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits,
Jack White, Meg White, Cate Blanchett,
GZA, RZA, Steve Coogan, Alfred Molina
Eleven blackout sketches, all revolving around conversations over coffee (or tea) and cigarettes. Blanchett stands out in a dual role as a movie star and her jealous cousin, and Murray does a funny bit as a waiter with an insane coffee habit and a bad smoker's cough. The best segments deal with role-playing and manipulation: the funny, cruel, self-defining ways people sometimes fuck with each other when they're just hanging out talking, each conversation becoming a kind of negotiation over the shifting balance of power. Sometimes they're fun. Sometimes they sting. If you're scanning the DVD looking for a highlight, try Murray's out-take and the episode with Tom Waits and Iggy Pop.
