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Movies / On DVD / Romance & Cigarettes
Romance & Cigarettes

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Romance & Cigarettes (2007)

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Reviews Counted:56

Fresh:29

Rotten:27

Average Rating:5.4/10

Consensus: This movie musical aims for fun and modern, but Romance and Cigarettes is too scattered and uneven to achieve either.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for sexual content including some strong dialogue, and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Theatrical Release:Sep 7, 2007 Limited

Box Office: $398,846

Synopsis: Part comedy, part romance, part drama, part musical, John Turturro's ROMANCE & CIGARETTES teeters on the brink of collapse at every single moment, just like the fragile characters that inhibit the... Part comedy, part romance, part drama, part musical, John Turturro's ROMANCE & CIGARETTES teeters on the brink of collapse at every single moment, just like the fragile characters that inhibit the film's frantic, manic world. The result is an unsettling, exhilarating, and thrillingly alive spectacle of a motion picture. Nick Murder (James Gandolfini) is a blue-collar worker who falls under the spell of the gorgeous redhead Tula (Kate Winslet). But when his frustrated wife, Kitty (Susan Sarandon), finds out, the Murder family begins to short circuit. Of the three daughters--Constance (Mary-Louise Parker), Rosebud (Aida Turturro), and Baby (Mandy Moore)--Baby appears to be next in line for love, though no one approves of her choice of mate, the goofy Fryburg (Bobby Cannavale). Kitty's absurd Cousin Bo (a hilarious Christopher Walken) helps her to track down Tula, but that proves to be a futile exercise as well. Along the way, there are crude coworkers (Steve Buscemi), annoying neighbors (Amy Sedaris), and brash in-laws (Elaine Stritch) to add even more zaniness to the proceedings. To make matters more bizarre, characters break out into song-and-dance routines whenever the fancy strikes them. While Turturro's film is certainly an acquired taste, it is nonetheless one of the more distinct works of the decade. He creates a world that is on the verge of absolute collapse, with characters who are clearly desperate to retain a connection to someone or something in our harsh modern world. [More]

Starring: James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi

Starring: James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Eddie Izzard, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, Aida Turturro, Christopher Walken

Director: John Turturro

Director: John Turturro
Screenwriter: John Turturro
Producer: John Penotti, John Turturro
Composer: Paul Chihara
Studio: Humperdink

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 12, 2008

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Reviews for Romance & Cigarettes

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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It shouldn't work, but there's something beautiful in Turturro's non-judgmental, almost affectionate, exposure of human love as the courting dance of clueless primates

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
01/29/08
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

Any film that features an entrance by Christopher Walken strutting down a driveway to Elvis Presley's Trouble merits attention.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
12/05/07
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

It takes us on a unique, passionately committed journey.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
12/21/07
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

How weird is John Turturro's Romance & Cigarettes? Almost indescribably weird, though also strangely involving.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
12/21/07
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Romance and Cigarettes is lewd and it's lurid and looks to be a lost pop opera, but it has more vitality than anything else out there.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
11/15/07
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An ambitious experiment, it's not entirely successful, but it's easy to admire.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
12/07/07
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

When it succeeds, it soars with great abandon, and when it fails, it fails so grandly that we still want to applaud it. This is a madhouse of a movie.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
02/18/08
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
DVDTalk.com

Alternately shines and sputters.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/07/05
Derek Elley
Derek Elley
Variety

I found myself smiling with bafflement for most of the film, mostly enjoying the unorthodoxy of the whole thing.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
12/12/07
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

May be a sort of mess, but it's a joyously infectious one.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
11/30/07
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Turturro pulls off a very tricky balancing act, by trusting in the expertise of his performers and by infusing the whole film with energy and affection.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

John Turturro has crafted a truly unique American musical worthy of the Coen brothers' executive producer credits.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
12/20/07
Geoff Berkshire
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com

Terrific as a musical, indifferent as a drama, the movie’s great cast fails to rescue a scattershot approach. See it, though, for Walken on inspired form.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Ian Freer
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine

This singing-along-to-the-radio effect has a dingy charm that honors the blue-collar Italian setting, yet Turturro spoils it by turning the movie into a hip star party.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/06/07
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

If you're game for something different, it's worth a few giggles.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
09/07/07
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Romance and Cigarettes is good, not-so-clean fun.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
09/04/07
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Romance and Cigarettes may not always work as well as it probably should, but regardless there's no arguing with the originality of Turturro's piece.

Full Review Source: FilmFocus | comment Comment
04/01/06
Joe Utichi
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus

In a season seasoned with off-beat originality in the movies, from Lars and the Real Girl to I'm Not There, you still have not seen anything quite like John Turturro's extraordinary Romance and Cigarettes.

Full Review Source: Film.com | comment Comment
01/03/08
Jonathan F. Richards
Jonathan F. Richards
Film.com

...you have not lived till you've seen Walken belt out a Tom Jones tune.

Full Review Source: OC Weekly | comment Comment
12/21/07
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
OC Weekly

Energetic, colourful and occasionally just downright weird, this has Future Cult Movie written all over it.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
03/23/06
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
 
 
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Latest News for Romance & Cigarettes

December 29, 2007: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

August 16, 2007: Turturro Paying for His Own Romance & Cigarettes
Oh, corporate mergers. Shareholders love 'em, but if you're lost in the shuffle when two industry giants decide to bump uglies, you can find yourself in for a world of... More...

February 01, 2007: Critical Consensus: "Because" Is Less Than So-So; "Messengers" Not Screened -- Guess The Tomatometer!
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April 20, 2006: SF International Fest Starts Today; "Factotum," "Romance," "Companion" and More!
Bay Area RTers, get yourselves to San Francisco this weekend for the annual SF International Film Festival for your chance to see flicks like "Factotum," "Art... More...

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