by MARK SLUTSKY

In 1986, Jim Jarmusch made a short film, Coffee and Cigarettes, with Steven Wright and Roberto Benigni, for Saturday Night Live. It's a brief wisp of seemingly improvised comedic absurdity, with the two sipping espressos, lighting smokes and talking around each other. Jarmusch must have liked the format, because over the years he would make 10 more, all shot in black and white. Though some of them have played the festival circuit over the years, Jarmusch is now releasing them together in theatres as an anthology film.

There's an impressive number of talented performers on display in this movie, from the worlds of both acting and music - Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits, Cate Blanchett, Alfred Molina, Steve Coogan, Bill Murray, the RZA, the GZA, and Jack and Meg White all appear. The subject matter couldn't sound better for Jarmusch enthusiasts. And yet, for the most part, Coffee and Cigarettes is incredibly boring.

Maybe I should rephrase that: for the first part, Coffee and Cigarettes is incredibly boring. For at least the first hour or so, you've never seen a movie so dull. Even with its inspired subject matter and casting, the movie seems to elude any sort of interesting way of approaching the eponymous subject matter. The shorts are too long, the jokes are bad - it's just infuriating.

Things do pick up a bit. There are perhaps four good pieces here, interestingly enough, all shot in 2003. Cousins has Blanchett in a dual role, as both herself and a resentful cousin; she's amazing, unsurprisingly. The similarly titled Cousins? is the best of the bunch, with Molina and Coogan, also playing themselves. Cousins? is so funny and great I won't spoil it for you, but it's the only one of the shorts that really stands on its own as a great little film. Delirium teams up the RZA, GZA, and Bill Murray and is sporadically funny. And the last film, Champagne, which is very pretty and sad, features artist/actors Bill Rice and Taylor Mead in quiet conversation. These four alone are almost worth the admission, but you might want to skip the first hour.

Coffee and Cigarettes opens Friday, May 28

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