Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Romance and Cigarettes

All I can say is that for the mindblowing cast alone, I recommend this movie. Here are the highlights:

James Gandolfini
Susan Sarandon
Kate Winslet
Steve Buscemi
Mandy Moore
Mary-Louise Parker
Aida Turturro
Christopher Walken
Eddie Izzard
Amy Sedaris

Yes. It is that good.
And did I mention they sing? They do. And dance. And there are surreal interludes with firemen twirling and swinging hoses to The Buena Vista Social Club, underwater love songs, choreographed policemen soft-shoeing in the suburbs, deadpan humor and dialog that knocked me off my feet and Janis Joplin being sung by a church choir. It all takes itself only half-seriously which you can tell by the way that every song and dance involves someone swinging whimsically on a pole "Singing in the Rain" style and yet, the whole package is presented so convincingly 100% that you can't help but cheer for the working class hero.

John Turturro obviously had the kind of fun creating this bizarre and hilarious love song to 1980's working-class New York that he allowed the story (which is not a complicated one) to take a backseat to the concept and the performances and the characters which are simply top notch. I loved this film.

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