ROMANCE & CIGARETTES
RYAN: Writer/director John Turturro’s new movie is “Romance & Cigarettes,” and surprisingly he didn’t put himself in it. And I’m going to make a very bold statement: I do not like movies that change genres halfway through, and this movie did that three times. It went from musical to comedy to drama.
CAROLINE: I don’t know, I thought it was pretty hilarious and campy. I love anything with singing in it. And while the music is more focused toward the beginning of the movie, it remains a musical throughout.
RYAN: I didn’t think it was campy; it was silly. Camp usually has a little more intelligence to it, and it’s a little gay, but this wasn’t that. It was just silly to me. I’m not saying I didn’t like those silly moments, but overall this isn’t a great film. However, it does have some truly spectacular performances and some wonderful moments that on their own could have been Academy Award winning short films.
CAROLINE: The reason to see this movie is the cast – it’s unbelievable. It stars Susan Sarandon and James Gandolfini as a married couple, but the real scene stealer is a sultry Kate Winslet with a fabulous Scottish accent.
RYAN: She could get an Oscar for this role. She’s absolutely brilliant. I think it’s one of my favorite performances of hers of all time.
CAROLINE: The profane words she gets to say with her brogue are just about the best thing you’ve ever heard. And I loved her red hair.
RYAN: I recently read an interview where she said that she really likes to make herself vulnerable in her film roles, that she lets loose and never gets embarrassed, and that is truly evidenced in her performance in this film.
CAROLINE: It’s also got Mary-Louise Parker, Mandy Moore, Amy Sedaris, Bobby Cannavale with a fabulous pompadour, Aida Turturro, Christopher Walken…the list goes on and on. It is so funny to see all these great actors hamming it up and singing. It’s a small movie that isn’t going to see a wide release, but it’s lots of fun.
RYAN: There are some brilliant shots too, especially one where the camera is just revolving around James Gandolfini and another one of pink flowers on a tree that is just gorgeous.
CAROLINE: And true to the title, there’s a lot of smoking. Clearly this was made before the NC-17 ruling about unnecessary smoking in movies.
RYAN: I just wish that the musical numbers had been done without the actors singing along to a vocal track. I would have liked to hear the actors’ actual voices.
RYAN: There’s one part where Mandy Moore actually gets to sing and I dug that.
RYAN: I want to stick with my original statement that I don’t like movies that switch genres halfway through, but I have to admit that I really liked parts of this film. But it’s experimental and awkward at times. I’m torn; but at the end of the day, I think it’s worth seeing.