Chinese Coffee (2000)

Director:

Al Pacino

Writers (WGA):

Ira Lewis (play)
Ira Lewis (screenplay)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Harry and Jake, two unsuccessful writers, spend a cathartic evening arguing about money, aesthetics, their friendship, and Harry's new manuscript.

Plot Keywords:

Belly Dancer | Flashback | Semi Autobiographical | Greek Tragedy | Bartender

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Harry Levine
Jerry Orbach	...	Jake Manheim
Susan Floyd	...	Joanna
Ellen McElduff	...	Mavis
Michel Moinot	...	Maurice
Judette Jones	...	Supermarket cashier
Paul J.Q. Lee	...	Counterman
Joel Eidelsberg	...	Harry's brother
Maria Gentile	...	Sarah / Bellydancer
Christopher Evan Welch	...	Hamlet actor
Neal Jones	...	Eteocles / Actor in play
Laura Esterman	...	Actor in play / Messenger
Hazelle Goodman	...	Cafe Dante waitress (as Hazel Goodman)
James Bulleit	...	Sgt. Boyle - Undercover cop #1
Mark Scarola	...	Undercover cop #2

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Company:

Chal Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end of the film Harry is poured a full glass of seltzer with a lime in it by Barney. Although he does not touch it, the glass is empty when he gets up to leave.

Quotes:

Jake Manheim: I’m exhausted from being exhausted.

A staged play start to finish

A Broadway play turned into a film starring Al Pacino and Jerry Orbach. Think of this script as sort of a "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf" between two heterosexual men. In the span of two hours (with flashbacks) layer after layer of their relatively short friendship is peeled away to raw feelings and pseudo-honest expressions until a few truths may have been reached. My only problem with it is in the style of the dialog – much of the time feeling the scripts are invisible but right in front of them. The timing is too "ready" and snappy, the comebacks polished, the exchanges sculpted with care. Had it (they) been relaxed, awkward, slow to respond, overly fast to respond, etc., I could've believed it. As it is, I never lost awareness this was a staged play.