200 Cigarettes

(1999)

Directed by

Risa Bramon Garcia

Review by Todd Plucknett

200 Cigarettes is a comedy directed by Risa Bramon Garcia, which is her directorial debut. It is a very uneven and unsatisfying film, but it does contain some fine qualities and enjoyable characters. When it really comes down to it, though, it really is just a piece of fluff.

The film is set on New Year’s Eve 1981 in New York. The film follows a number of different stories that unavoidably connect in the end. Monica (Martha Plimpton) is throwing a party that she is afraid nobody will come to. Christina Ricci and Gaby Hoffman play two teenagers who basically snuck out to enjoy the night on the town. Along the way, they meet Dave (Guillermo Diaz) and Tom (Casey Affleck), tow thugs who have to deliver a package. Cindy (Kate Hudson) and Jack (Jay Mohr) are out after a one-night stand. Oscar-winner Ben Affleck plays a bartender who keeps hitting on women, except the one that wanted to be hit on: Lucy (Courtney Love). She is out with her good friend Kevin (Paul Rudd). There is also Bridget (Nicole Parker) and Caitlyn (Angela Featherstone), and Dave Chappelle as a cab driver.

There really are only a few good things about this picture. The story with Love and Rudd is very interesting, and they both give strong performances. The one story that works the best is the one with Ricci and Hoffman. The dialogue and presence of these two young actresses on screen is about the only memorable trait of this film. Plimpton was annoying, Hudson and Mohr were bothersome, and I still cannot figure out the significance of Parker and Featherstone’s characters. Too much time was spent with those meaningless characters. The writing is fresh at times, and the costumes well represent the time period. The laughs are scarce, and the editing is not consistent. I would have liked to see some of the characters cut out and have it focus more on a couple stories. I could even have watched an entire movie with just Ricci and Hoffman and what happened to them that night while they were getting lost and meeting people. It could have been a lot more enjoyable. Instead, they had to include forced storylines that only seem to have the significance of adding to the brilliant list of actors in the film.

Overall, the movie is a harmless entertainment that will not satisfy audiences completely. The ending connections are just absurd. It is hardly a bad movie, but it just doesn’t really have its bar set much higher than mediocrity. It doesn’t even reach that high actually. A few fine performances, a great ensemble cast, and some great moments cannot save this script that lacks substance and a fulfilling conclusion. 

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