Romance & Cigarettes (2005)

A down-and-dirty musical set in the world of working-class New York, tells a story of a husband's journey into infidelity and redemption when he must choose between his seductive mistress and his beleaguered wife.

Director:

John Turturro

Writer:

John Turturro

Stars:

James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Gandolfini	...	Nick Murder
Susan Sarandon	...	Kitty Kane
Kate Winslet	...	Tula
Steve Buscemi	...	Angelo
Bobby Cannavale	...	Fryburg
Mandy Moore	...	Baby
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Constance
Aida Turturro	...	Rosebud
Christopher Walken	...	Cousin Bo
Barbara Sukowa	...	Gracie
Elaine Stritch	...	Nick's Mother
Eddie Izzard	...	Gene Vincent
Amy Sedaris	...	Frances
P.J. Brown	...	Police Officer
Adam LeFevre	...	Fruitman

Storyline

Nick and Kitty Murder are married middle-aged working class New Yorkers. Kitty catches Nick in an indiscretion when she finds a love poem, extolling the virtues of one specific body part, Nick wrote to his mistress, Tula. The poem is the last straw for Kitty regarding their marriage. Kitty has the support of their three grown daughters - biological or other - her cousin Bo, her pastor and others at the church. They help her with among other things finding and thus dealing with Tula, who she does not know, and looking back at if she made a mistake in choosing Nick over her first love. On the other side, Nick turns to his co-worker Angelo, and a local police officer/ex-military man for advice, which he also gets unsolicited from his tough talking mother. Nick still has Tula, a frank-talking Northern English sex shop clerk, who truly loves Nick's body parts as he loves hers. A little emotional distance may provide Nick and Kitty the best perspective of what their future holds.

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Plot Keywords:

anal sex | sex | dream | redemption | arms tied overhead | 

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Taglines:

A Savage Musical

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content including some strong dialogue, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Icon Film Distribution [UK]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2006 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Apisties kai tsigara

Filming Locations:

13023 150th Ave, Jamaica, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,630, 5 October 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$540,085, 13 January 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists, GreeneStreet Films, Icon Entertainment International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Gandolfini is only a year older than Aida Turturro, who plays his daughter in the film. Also, his other daughter is played by Mary-Louise Parker, who is in fact merely three years younger than him.

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Goofs

When Nick first comes into the house toward the beginning of the movie, his daughter's band is playing outside. When he shuts the front door, the music volume does not change. It should become more muffled with the door shut.

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Quotes

Kitty Kane: You two must think I'm the cucumber in the gardener's ass.

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Connections

Referenced in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Nicholas Hoult/John Turturro/Bret Baier (2016)

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Soundtracks

Piece of My Heart
Written by Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy
Used by permission of Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI), Unichappell Music Inc. (BMI), Sloopy II Music,
Inc. (BMI)
Performed by Erma Franklin
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Licensing

User Reviews

Another form of musical

This is funny in a way that American movies usually aren't. Gandolfini is playing a character extremely far away from all Soprano stuff. But he's a hero.

He's cheating on his wife in a way which isn't glamorous, just rather cheap and rather human. Susan Sarandon as the wife is really funny through all her love-hate. This family is dysfunctional, but in a way that's impossible not to like.

And it really is a musical. Sometimes. The characters burst out, miming to hit songs. That's show stoppers, but in the good sense of the word. It's all worth seeing.