200 Cigarettes (1999)

★½
Movies with lots of dialogue can be great if the characters have something interesting to say. When they talk simply to talk because the writer didn't know when they should stop, then you get the endless banter of 200 Cigarettes, which is a wildly uneven tale featuring smokers, yuppies and partyers all mulling around on New Year's Eve 1981 before attending a bash in New York City's East Village to say farewell to the year and give 1982 a big welcome. The crowded cast is, I think, a cover for a screenplay with no idea how to use dialogue to create a sustained narrative and hold our interest. 1995's Before Sunrise was simply about two people (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) who meet on a train and decide to tour Vienna while discussing their hopes, dreams and expectations for life. Their conversations stemmed from a desire for human connection and diverged into other topics naturally.

A closer comparison to 200 Cigarettes might be 1998's Can't Hardly Wait, which also featured an ensemble cast and a party. I liked that movie, though I admit it's been too long since I've seen it to remember why. I do remember a tender scene between Seth Green and Lauren Ambrose that was more touching than anything in this silly tale, which came to us courtesy of a one-time screenwriter (Shana Larsen) who—to give credit where credit is due—managed to sell a script and get it made with actors who would go on to become really famous (Ben Affleck, Paul Rudd, Kate Hudson). The title is a reference to the fact that most of the stars smoke, although smoking says nothing about them and really doesn't even matter when it's all over. They smoke. So what? The indie boom of the '90s was a fertile period for low-budget movies by hungry young artists, but director Risa Bramon Garcia wasn't hungry enough.

Monica (Martha Plimpton) is hosting the big party, but as the night progresses, she becomes more and more distraught over the lack of guests. Her guests are, in fact, spread out all over the East Village and engaged in various activities, whether it's employment, getting lost or preoccupation with relationships. There is also a cab driver (Dave Chappelle) who picks up some of the cast at various points of the night. His first fare is Kevin (Rudd) and his friend Lucy (Courtney Love). Their friendship will be tested as the evening gives way to the new year, as a mounting sexual attraction between the two takes hold. Elsewhere, Bridget (Nicole Ari Parker) and her friend Caitlyn (Angela Featherstone) are at a bar with Bridget's date Eric (Brian McCardie). They lose interest in him, so he heads to his ex-girlfriend Monica, the party host who still laments her empty apartment.

The most interesting character is Cindy (Hudson), an awkward but likeable young lady on a date with Jack (Jay Mohr). I wish the movie could have just been about her and her date, since they are the only people here who could possibly sustain a full-length movie. Alas, the movie presses onward. Monica's cousin Val (Christina Ricci) and her buddy Stephie (Gaby Hoffmann) get lost on their way to the party. They spend much of the time bickering about their situation. There are others, but you get the picture. Some of these stories intersect, but they will all culminate at Monica's party, which gives us one of the few genuinely funny developments in the story, which the cabbie summarizes in a photo montage. I also liked a pickup line that Ben's Affleck's bartender used on Bridget. There are isolated moments of humor, which I suppose is inevitable given the amount of dialogue present. It's like the old saying about the broken clock being right twice a day.

Movies driven by dialogue are a popular choice for new filmmakers, but lots of dialogue could also be a cover for a lack of inspiration. People can't talk just to talk. Their words should be interesting and relevant. They should flow smoothly, and the characters should play off each other naturally. Quentin Tarantino knew that, as did Kevin Smith and others, but the makers of 200 Cigarettes weren't too keen to give these words and actions much purpose. If we are asked to spend time with characters, we should be able to walk away from the experience with some idea about who they are and why they do what they do. There's none of that here. Watching this movie is like attending a party where I know no one and leave hours later resentful of the person who invited me.

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