Romance & Cigarettes
User Score
6.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 3 out of 10

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  1. PeterA.
    Oct 2, 2007
    7
    While this movie certainly has its merits, it's probably one of those "noble failures" that is great to watch for movie buffs and interesting to see as a film experiment, but ultimately doesn't really work. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time, and some moments actually worked really, really well. Buscemi and Walken fans won't be let down, as they play another variation on their weirdo theme, but fortunately once again to good effect. Winslet really can do anything, and this movie is another great performance from her. And don't get me started on Elaine Stritch! What a hoot. Honestly, if the idea of seeing all these people in the same movie together has appeal for you, you'll probably find much to enjoy. As to the songs, I would have preferred genuine performances from the cast as opposed to them "singing along" with another recording of the song; it made for sort of an amateurish performance, which is maybe what Turturro wanted, but not what I want in a movie musical.… Expand
  2. PaulS.
    Dec 1, 2007
    1
    Wow - I saw this last night and had to walk out near the end. I could only take so much. This is a Musical. We knew that. Rules for attending a musical: 1) Never attend a musical. This movie is a musical. If you violate rule number 1, see rule number 2. 2) Make sure that the people singing in a musical actually have at least some singing talent. Think: Moulin Rouge , The Sound of Music, Chicago, or even the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Unfortunately, the people singing in this movie displayed no musical talent. I think, in some cases, some of these actors probably have at least some talent, however, no such talent was displayed during the movie. In fact they usually had the actors singing along with other people singing, probably for this reason. It did not work. If you violate rule 2, see rule 3. 3) If it is a musical and the actors have no musical talent, then a least make sure the movie is funny. This was the attempt with this movie. Unfortunately, it was not funny. Now, it did try to be funny. At times it sort of inspired a mild smile - sort of like what you get when you think "gosh, if this were done well, it would probably be pretty funny". You know … Expand
  3. RachelH.
    Jan 2, 2008
    10
    AWESOME hysterically funny star casted movie. Bound to be a cult classic. Christopher Walker..YES YES YES!!!! Susan Surandan double yes. Mary Louise Parker...hysterical...Mandy Moore..who knew she was so good? And Kate Winslet steels the show totally AMAZING in this role..she blows us all away. Full of camp.nostalgia....over the top hilarity..a kind of absurd and demented west side story back drop...full of delicious archetypes and yummy stereotypes all in humor and wit. We LOVE IT!!!… Expand
  4. ChadS.
    Feb 13, 2008
    7
    Two separate but intertwined dialectics propel the narrative in "Romance and Cigarettes", a gently provocative neo-musical that makes us aware of our over-reliance on other people's words and music to express love and love-related matters. The first dialectic vies poetry against the hegemony of popular song, whose dominancy can be traced to poetry's transformation to free-verse during the mid-twentieth century. A lot of people think they know poetry; that a poem is supposed to rhyme, people like Nick(James Gandolfini) and Kitty(the ageless and exquisite Susan Sarandon), who unleash their vulgar couplets of doggerel at each other, when the wife discovers that her husband had been unfaithful. The second dialectic vies popular music against "alternative" music. Engelbert Humperdinck's "A Man Without Love"(a Top-five hit from 1968) plays in Nick's head as he dreams of Tula(Kate Winslet), his mistress. A commercial song is like a greeting card; the sentiment may hail from one's heart, but it's a commodified heart; love as nurture(in the musical number, we see other people using the song as a means to an end), rather than nature(a genuine feeling for another person as expressed in terms of the song's originality and relative obscurity). Alternative music is a commodity, too; make no mistake of this, but Ute Lemper's "Little Water Song" feels more personal, more organic than the Humperdinck smash, which the film illustrates by isolating Tula underwater without any human interference. "Romance and Cigarettes" exquisitely shows us how Tula's love is deeper than Nick's. Although poetry will never again surpass popular song in the hearts and minds of the hoi polloi, Nick gives "The Girl That I Marry" some gravitas by reading Irving Berlin's lyrics as if it WERE poetry, before Kitty accompanies her husband in a cappella style, the song, now personalized by oral recitation, seems more like a sung poem than a commercialized song(the rendering of musical notation is what makes the song a popular art). "Romance and Cigarettes" has a lot to say about how people express love. We don't know how, according to the filmmaker, so we let anybody from George Gershwin("Follow my lead, oh, how I need/ someone to watch over me") to Iggy Pop("I hear her heart beating, loud as thunder/saw the stars crashing) to do it for us.… Expand
  5. Ethan
    Feb 15, 2008
    3
    Although this movie features music, it is not necessarily a musical per se. Modern musical... maybe but its not played out to be a classic musical. First of all, when I first saw the cast list, I thought this movie was going to be amazing. Even if Turturro had to raise most of the money himself after not getting picked up for several years I still thought it would be great. However, I was unpleasantly surprised as I watched this horrible pretentious film. Although there were star performances, especially from Kate Winslet. The spectacular acting was not enough to take away from the corniness and convolution of the film. I'm not being naive in criticizing the presence of the music, I'm just saying that I think the movie would have been better if it was purely acting and lacking of the artsy portrayal through the music. A stellar cast and a horrible screenplay... this movie was too good to be true.… Expand
  6. JimB
    Sep 15, 2009
    10
    The film is a truly a magnificent work of art. I've read dozens of comments and they all seem to drag down the film as 'a good try' or a flop; but they compare the film which you just can't do to this film. It stands alone and is art and good film art. The film is actually very deep and very meaningful. Cigarette addiction is like a demon inside you it can tear you in half trying to rid yourself of the addiction that… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
55 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 22
  3. Negative: 5 out of 22
  1. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    75
    It's almost unfair to make the comparison because there are so many fundamental differences, but the closest recent movie to Romance and Cigarettes is "Moulin Rouge." The key likeness is easy to spot: the characters spontaneously break into familiar pop songs.
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  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Ray Bennett
    30
    The sad result is a karaoke nightmare. Loud and pointlessly crude, the film takes the disintegration of a dysfunctional working-class family and gives it the song-and-dance treatment.
  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Derek Elley
    50
    Chockfull of ideas and with an irreverence that irresistibly recalls late '60s American cinema, thesp John Turturro's third outing in the helmer's chair, Romance & Cigarettes, alternately shines and sputters.
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