200 CIGARETTES (director: Risa Bramon Garcia; screenwriter: Shana Larsen; cinematographer: Frank Prinzi; cast: Ben Affleck (Bartender), Paul Rudd (Kevin), Kate Hudson (Cindy), Courtney Love (Lucy), David Chappelle (Cab Driver), Guillermo Díaz (Dave), Angela Featherstone (Caitlin), Gaby Hoffmann (Stephie), Janeane Garofalo (Ellie), Martha Plimpton (Monica), Christina Ricci (Val), Hillary (Catherine Kellner), Jay Mohr (Jack), Brian McCardie (Eric), Nicole Parker (Bridget), 1999)
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
There's not much excitement to this New Year's Eve of 1981 film, taking place in the East Village of New York City, except for the attempt at some revelry by pairs of teens and twenty-somethings trying to make a statement about their desperate lives, their loneliness, their neurotic lives, their one-night stands, and their need for partying, smoking and drinking.
Numerous sketches take place at a party hosted by Monica (Plimpton), who fears that no one will show up. Her place becomes the focal point for introducing all the so-called zany characters who try and eventually will find their way to her party.
The best part of the film, is that it did capture the East Village feel of the Reagan 1980s. But, for the most part, this was a dull film that had nothing to say and soon wore out its welcome as the story became insipid and the characters grating. It was difficult to like anyone in this motley group of users, wannabes and punkers. In the end, the film proved to be as shallow as the characters were.
Director Risa Bramon Garcia, making her debut after a successful career as a casting director, seems to be more interested in getting the pop music of the 1980s heard and the bizarre dress of party goers viewed, than in telling a cohesive story. She succeeded in scoring in both of her limited objects, even getting Elvis Costello to make an appearance.
In this ensemble piece, there are far too many characters to really get to know them and too many sub plot developments to keep your interest. Everyone fades in and out of the scene, for no rhyme or reason, each with some tale to tell. Among all these whites is a wise-guy black cab driver (David Chappelle ), riding in a disco cab, who is also out there trying to score women. He offers what goes for words of wisdom to his passengers. "If you relax, you can get what you want, even if you smell like dog shit."
The ones with the most screen time are: Monica, who collapses and misses the tremendous crowd that attends her party, including the one she idolizes, Elvis Costello; Kevin (Paul Rudd) is an unhappy sourpuss who's not enjoying his birthday because his girlfriend left him; Lucy (Courtney Love) is Kevin's best friend for the last five years, who is accompanying him around town and who has had sex with seemingly everyone but him. They tempt each other with sex this entire evening. Then there's - Christina Ricci and Gaby Hoffman - as teenagers from the 'burbs in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, who are just looking for a party or in the case of Gaby, just to get home alive; Janeane Garofalo (Kevin's ex-girlfriend) is someone who angrily thinks she deserves better than Kevin and tells this to the cabbie; Ben Affleck is a smug bartender looking for sex; he has the best line in the film, as he asks two sex-crazed wannabe punkers, competing for the same guys, Angela Featherstone and Nicole Parker, "By the way, how do you like your eggs in the morning? Scrambled or fertilized?"; Kate Hudson is clumsy, she is always knocking things over and slipping in dog shit. She is a virgin, who was deflowered last night night by the ego driven Jay Mohr, a real lady killer and phony; and, then, there is Brian McCardie, who has a noticeable Scottish accent. He is an artist not able to keep a woman because he's lousy in bed.
If I kept scored correctly, each party goer finds a new mate to bring in the New Year. The film is almost bearable when it just goes for the look and feel of the times, but when it tries to pontificate, such as when it sums up the film by comparing relationships to the way smokers have a need for cigarettes, and asks the question from the pair that got the most screen time, Rudd and Love, "Why are people so scared of each other? Why are they scared to be honest with each other?" Then I felt the party was really over and this MTV produced story faded out with not one interesting character in the film. I bet you a dollar to a donut, that you could have gone to most any other New Year's Eve party in Manhattan and met more interesting people!
REVIEWED ON 3/12/2000 GRADE: C-
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
http://www.sover.net/~ozus
ozus@sover.net
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