Almost twenty years in the making, Jim Jarmusch's collection of short films, COFFEE AND CIGARETTES, finds many laughs and even a few surprising insights in the mundanity of small talk, conversational tension, and everyday rituals. Eleven short comic scenes, shot between 1986 and 2003, form the basis of this loosely-constructed existential comedy. All of the pieces, populated both by Jarmusch regulars like Cinque Lee and Tom Waits and newcomers like Cate Blanchett and Steve Coogan, share certain characteristics. They are all shot in black-and-white (despite being shot by four different, talented cinematographers). They all feature the titular items of coffee and cigarettes, usually being enjoyed at patterned or checkerboard tables. And each of them, with varying degrees of success, explore Jarmusch's thesis that there is a revealing power in basic life experiences, a communal sharing that happens when two people share a smoke or a cup of joe.

It doesn't get much deeper than that, I'm afraid. Which is all right, usually, when the actors are clearly having so much fun. The short scenes, which take on an odd resonance here in Bloomberg's cigarette-banned New York, range from laugh-out-loud funny to acerbically witty to sleep-inducing. For the most part, however, they are dreamily affecting curiosities, stilted and just enough off-kilter to keep the viewer attentive. And even if one's attention struggles through a few of the most obtuse moments, COFFEE AND CIGARETTES never waivers in revealing the visible joy of the performers, acting with the passion that comes from the freedom to explore and indulge...under the watchful eye of America's most arresting director.

Of the eleven scenes, the two best, "Somewhere in California" and "Cousins?", share a similar theme: artistic one-upmanship. In "California", the seminal musicians Iggy Pop and Tom Waits (playing themselves) meet for the first time in a bar...and almost immediately find themselves on the defensive. Waits expresses a casual self-consciousness about which of them is more famous or most talented; Pop, on the other hand, offhandedly drops unintentional insults with a befuddled combination of hero worship and earnestness. A more pointed creative jousting match is on display in "Cousins?", where Alfred Molina (Frida) has invited Steve Coogan (24 Hour Party People) for lunch to reveal a secret of mutual interest. Coogan, however -- hilariously playing the line between Hollywood player and Hollywood hater -- dismisses Molina as an overly ardent fan...until he overhears a cell phone call from "Spike." Jarmusch uses these terrifically talented character actors to send-up the film industry's constant jockeying for position with flair and panache.

Some of the scenes are pure comedy. The best of these is "Delirium", a farcical testament to the pitfalls and pleasures of caffeine by the unlikely trio of rappers GZA, RZA, and Bill Murray (Lost in Translation). Other scenes, however, are tonally at odds -- a jittery opener with Steven Wright and Roberto Benigni and a dull-as-dishwater sequence featuring Jack and Meg White of the The White Stripes fall flat, while a segment about twins (with Steve Buscemi and the real-life twins Cinque and Joie Lee) is unable to find its structural footing. A solo tour-de-force by Cate Blanchett, playing both herself and a fictional bad-egg cousin, is impressive but seems needlessly show-offy.

If you see COFFEE AND CIGARETTES, however, make sure to stay all the way to the end. The final piece, "Champagne", is easily the most resonant of the entire set. Featuring alterna-legends Taylor Mead and Bill Rice, the quiet, elegiac scene follows two old men on a coffee break. As fatigue sets in on the pair, they begin to hear Mahler in the background, and fantasize about the lives of the rich and famous, pretending their coffee to be champagne. It is a near-perfect coda to this wildly divergent collection, a pitch-perfect comment on the human need for contact and interaction.

Making its U.S. premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival prior to its national release, COFFEE AND CIGARETTES, with its bite-size ethereality, may be Jarmusch's most commercially accessible film. Certainly those who struggled with the stylish meanderings of Dead Man, Ghost Dog or Stranger on Earth will be able to easily digest this thinner comic charmer. (Ghost Dog remains one of the best films of the 1990's...perhaps it will receive its due attention on DVD.) One hopes that COFFEE AND CIGARETTES, with its sparkling humor and all-star ensemble, will bring new fans to Jarmusch. Talent like his is in increasingly short supply these days, even in the most witty of coffeehouses.

-- Gabriel Shanks

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