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When bridge-building New Yorker Nick Murder (James Gandolfini) is caught writing explicit poetry to another woman, his wife, Kitty (Susan Sarandon), decides she’s had enough—and she banishes him to the living room couch forever. Their three rock-star-hopeful daughters shun him (except for clueless daughter Rosebud, played by Aida Turturro, who isn’t quite sure what to do). And even his lecherous pal, Angelo (Steve Buscemi), tells him he’s got to end it. But Nick isn’t quite ready to give up his redheaded bombshell of an underwear purveyor, the lovely and foul-mouthed Tula (Kate Winslet).
Meanwhile, as daughter Baby (Mandy Moore) falls for their neighbor, Fryburg (Bobby Cannavale), Kitty tries to figure out what it really means to be in love. Mostly, though, the whole thing leads Kitty—with the help of her Cousin Bo (Christopher Walken)—to hunt down the woman who stole her no-good husband.
Oh…and did I mention that it’s a musical?
Writer/director John Turturro’s Romance & Cigarettes is definitely an unconventional musical. From its random and often crude poetry to its surprising song and dance numbers, it’s anything but ordinary. It’s strange and irreverent and often even bizarre. After all, it’s not every day that you see James Gandolfini dancing in the streets while singing an Engelbert Humperdinck song about heartbreak—or Susan Sarandon singing “Piece of My Heart,” backed by the church choir (accompanied by Eddie Izzard on organ).
Though the film tells an interesting story about love and loss—while pointing out some rather glaring differences between men and women—the whole thing is generally perplexing and definitely odd. It tends to wander off into some strange (and often uncomfortable) directions. And it’s so out there that it’s often difficult to take it all in.
The film does, however, have its entertaining moments—most of which happen when Christopher Walken is on-screen. When he performs the Tom Jones number, “Delilah,” he’s crazy-brilliant. In fact, it’s quite possibly the film’s highlight…or maybe it’s just the most palatable of the film’s all-out wackiness. In the midst of its angry rocker daughters, its crude construction workers, its dirty-talking redheaded underwear salesgirls, and its adult circumcision, Christopher Walken singing Tom Jones seems almost commonplace. Heck, when doesn’t Christopher Walken sing and dance these days?
Romance & Cigarettes is definitely an imaginative film—and, had it been reined in a bit, it could have been an outrageous little cinematic treat. Unfortunately, its wilder, more bizarre moments will most likely go over the heads (and a little beyond the comfort level) of most mainstream moviegoers.
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