In a 1998 issue of Premiere Magazine, a female producer on this film told a writer, "It's a romantic comedy. It lets the girl get the guy. It's adorable. It's gonna be great!" All right, so what do we get? A bunch of losers swearing and smoking. That producer must've been a flunky at MTV who got a break (and now hopefully she's busy being adorable some place else). This collection of 'wacky' characters, all trying to make their way to the same 1981 New Year's Eve party, have nothing fresh to say. The script seems to be written as an inside-joke, but it's hard to laugh when the actors on-screen are humiliated (and in such a lifeless vacuum). The ashtrays are overflowing, but the dialogue is stilted and the scenario strangely aloof and cold. Martha Plimpton plays the unfortunate girl giving the party and one feels sorry for the performer, not the character. Plimpton is a young actress who is difficult to cast; she's tough and direct, but her toughness isn't engaging and her direct, no-nonsense manner isn't particularly feminine or fetching. Janeane Garofalo has some sparkle, but the teaming of an annoying Courtney Love and an even more annoying Paul Rudd doesn't pay off. Other party-poopers include Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Gaby Hoffmann and Christina Ricci--all portraying people with low IQ's. * from ****
Review of 200 Cigarettes
