The difference here is that Jim Jarmusch has chosen celebrities – actors, musicians, etc. and thrown some unlikely combinations together to see what, if anything coherent, emerges. Unlikely as in: Stephen Wright / Roberto Benigni, Tom Waits / Iggy Pop, and Bill Murray/ RZA and GZA of Wu-Tang Clan, for example. Theoretically, Jarmusch wrote this series of scenes but some have the feel of ad-lib and on-the-spot improvisation. It really is a simple premise and one that isn’t necessarily trying to be profound – more like a collection of short stories in which each carries its own absurdity, hilarity or poignance.

The film begins with the original short that features the pairing of nearly comatose comedian Stephen Wright and the irrepressible and hyper, Roberto Benigni. A slow start – just sort of Wright’s classic understated mumbling (I have found him funny over the years but he’s not to everyone’s taste) versus Benigni’s chattering in broken English, with both appearing to have had too much caffeine - a bit bug-eyed and expresso cups held by shaking hands. This scene was probably the dullest of the group but as an intro, it worked to set up the rest. A few favorites….

Iggy Pop and Tom Waits: This one was great; a retro looking diner - you can never really see the whole location, just the table where the activity is going on but the way the immediate area is shot gives the viewer a sense of what the place looks like. Iggy, sitting alone, obviously waiting for someone, drinking coffee and looking fidgety. This goes on for a couple of minutes to draw things out and then Tom Waits turns up. Iggy is very keyed up by this – hanging with Tom Waits – and keeps trying to draw the laconic Waits into various topics. It’s very funny and ultimately veers off into a kind of musical one-upmanship, revolving around a nearby jukebox.

Cate Blanchett and Cate Blanchett: No, not a typo – Cate plays herself (the actress, Cate Blanchett) and a down-on-her-luck cousin, Shelby. The cousin gets progressively more envious and bitter while Cate appears self-conscious about her accomplishment and economic success. Even played as a dual-role it works - it’s a clever scene, the interaction with herself.

Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan: This is one of the best constructed vignettes – a slow build, works up to a climax, and then has an abrupt reversal of fortune. This begins with Molina trying to establish a friendship with Coogan, he’s humble, deferential – almost hat-in-hand, while Coogan rebuffs him. Molina eventually points out that they are related through some earlier ancestor but even that fails to move the superficial Coogan. While I won’t disclose what happens, suffice it to say that there is a social power shift that has Coogan furiously backpedaling in a very funny way.

GZA and RZA of Wu-Tang Clan and Bill Murray: Maybe the nuttiest scene – the two rappers/djs are sitting around actually not drinking or smoking but rather discussing various herbal remedies when Murray saunters up, dressed as a restaurant counterman. He offers to pour them coffee which they decline so he sits down with them and proceeds to swig coffee out of the pot. Just the banter back and forth – straight hip-hop versus Murray’s zany ad-lib – is worth it.

This is really an excellent little movie – pure Jim Jarmusch – with his particular sensibility that’s so evident in his other gems like ‘Stranger than Paradise,’ ‘Down by Law,’ ‘Dead Man’ and ‘Ghost Dog,’ among others. It’s probably not to everyone’s taste – there’s certainly no commercial attempt here – but then Jarmusch has never played to the masses which is what I appreciate about him. It also doen’t hurt that the various music tracks in most of the scenes are so good – music always figures prominently in Jarmusch films. What I also have to admire is the fact that in this day and age of the health fanatics, he has his characters drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. Sure, there are a few duds in this movie but even those are not offensive. Again, I see it as similar to a short story collection - you may not necessarily like every entry but you know whether or not it works as a whole. 'Coffee and Cigarettes' works and in this age of formula and repetition, I always find myself grateful for an unpretentious film like this.