Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)

A series of vignettes that all have coffee and cigarettes in common.

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

Writer:

Jim Jarmusch

Stars:

Bill Murray, Tom Waits, Roberto Benigni

2 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roberto Benigni	...	Roberto (segment "Strange to Meet You")
Steven Wright	...	Steven (segment "Strange to Meet You")
Joie Lee	...	Good Twin (segment "Twins")
Cinqué Lee	...	Evil Twin / Kitchen Guy (segment "Twins / Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil")
Steve Buscemi	...	Danny (segment "Twins")
Iggy Pop	...	Iggy (segment "Somewhere in California")
Tom Waits	...	Tom (segment "Somewhere in California")
Joseph Rigano	...	Joe (segment "Those Things'll Kill Ya") (as Joe Rigano)
Vinny Vella	...	Vinny (segment "Those Things'll Kill Ya")
Vinny Vella Jr.	...	Vinny Jr. (segment "Those Things'll Kill Ya")
Renee French	...	Renée (segment "Renée") (as Renée French)
E.J. Rodriguez	...	Waiter (segment "Renée")
Alex Descas	...	Alex (segment "No Problem")
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Isaach (segment "No Problem")
Cate Blanchett	...	Cate / Shelly (segment "Cousins")

Storyline

Eleven separate vignettes are presented. In each, celebrities, playing semi-fictionalized versions of themselves (with the exception of the characters of various wait staff, and one actor playing a lookalike cousin of herself), meet in a food service establishment with coffee/tea and cigarettes involved. Beyond the topic of discussion that brought them together, they often talk directly about coffee and cigarettes, more often that coffee and cigarettes, and by association caffeine and nicotine, are not healthy, especially if they are the only things constituting lunch. Other recurring themes include the Lee family, cousinhood, celebrity worship, the connection between the medical and musical careers, and Nikola Tesla's belief that the Earth is a conductor of acoustic resonance. In all cases, the coming together for coffee/tea and smokes acts as a bridge to overcome disagreements, and/or makes uncomfortable situations less uncomfortable.

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Plot Keywords:

vignette | musician | cigarette smoking | cult director | anthology | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA Japan Italy

Language:

English French

Release Date:

11 June 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Café e Cigarros

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

€72,167 (Italy), 14 March 2004, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$99,162, 16 May 2004, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,971,135, 18 July 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

Asmik Ace Entertainment, BIM Distribuzione, Smokescreen Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jim Jarmusch usually took no more than two to three takes for each scene in this film, in which most actors improvised parts of the conversation.

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Goofs

When Bill Murray makes his entrance in the segment "Delirium," he takes a drink out of the coffee pot he is holding. In the close up, Murray is holding the pot in his left hand. In the following wide shot, the pot switches to his right hand.

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Quotes

Shelly: It's just... funny, don't yah think, that when you can't afford something, it's like *really expensive* but then when you can afford it, it's like, free? It's kinda backwards, don't yah think?
Cate: Yeah, well... the world is a bit like that, I guess, in a lot of ways.

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Crazy Credits

Not the Executive Producer ... Bart Walker

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Connections

Featured in The 19th Annual the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor: Celebrating Bill Murray (2016)

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Soundtracks

Hanalei Moon
Written by Robert Nelson
Performed by Jerry Byrd
Published by Criterion Music Corporation
Courtesy of Surfside Hawaii/Lehua Records

User Reviews

A blast (***1/2)

Talk about an appropriate title.

This is a collection of 11 short stories directed by indie stalwart Jim Jarmusch ("Strangers in Paradise", "Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai") that have been filmed over the last 18 years, all of which involve two or more characters simply sitting at a table, conversing over...yep, coffee and cigarettes.

In the hands of a lesser director that might be extremely boring, but Jarmusch is a master of subtle understatement and great deadpan humor. This may be one of the funniest movies you've ever seen in which no one cracks a smile.

Almost all the actors play themselves, which adds a meta-theatrical, slightly surreal touch to it all.

Among my favorite stories are one in which an overly eager Alfred Molina has a surprise in store for coolly arrogant fellow actor Steve Coogan and a great one in which Cate Blanchett plays both herself and her jealous cousin Shelby. Then there's the one where Tom Waits and Iggy Pop meet in a dive bar to discuss things and have a smoke (to celebrate quitting smoking), Jack and Meg White of the White Stripes experimenting with a Tesla coil, and in the funniest casting, RZA and GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan sharing some downtime with, of all people, Bill Murray. I also like the one with Spike Lee's twin siblings, Joie and Cinque, dealing with an invasive waiter (a hilarious Steve Buscemi). Almost all the stories are excellent, but there are three that are very forgettable and pretty unnecessary, and they're all in a row, which disrupts the flow of the film. If those three had been taken out, "Coffee and Cigarettes" would be just about perfect, but it's still really good. And those three are out of the way in the first half, anyway.

For the first hour the movie feels mainly just like fun. Straight-faced, deadpan, B&W comedy just like "Strangers In Paradise". But as it goes on, and strange connections are made between the stories, it seems to have a sudden dreamlike depth to it.

The final story in particular, in which two old men in a dark room (Bill Rice and Taylor Mead) discuss life while on a coffee break that feels like it'll last forever, has a distinct "Waiting For Godot" feel and ends the movie on a perfect note of haunting, existential sadness.

It was at that point that I realized I hadn't just watched a string of jokey short stories, but a string of jokey short stories that say a lot about human nature and life in general.

And if that's not enough to interest you, how often do you get to see Tom Waits and Iggy Pop have a conversation? Or RZA, GZA, and Bill Murray?