Review of Romance & Cigarettes (2005) by Jake H — 23 Mar 2009

A modern musical in which love and lovers are compared to the multitude of cigarettes smoked by the main characters. Both things drive the movie to its conclusions, for better or for worse, but neither stands out in a striking manner.

When I saw that the Coenâ??s were attached to this film, I was very excited, especially after seeing the trailer. But the movie was not what I was expecting at all, and while the style of the film is unique, drawing on the imagery of West Side Story to begin its musical conception and then growing from there, I could not find the story truly engaging.

The final scenes are probably some of the best in the movie, but they also seem to leave behind the more surreal nature of the beginning acts, becoming a drama more than a musical. The talent is strong, but the acting seems lost on the script (Gandolfini and Sarandon do an admirable job, but a lot of the others, like Izzard, do not leave much of a mark at all).

While it has its moments, Romance and Cigarettes does not stretch itself in concepts or themes, merely packages a very basic message in a new box. Disappointing.