Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		0.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		1.0

200 Cigarettes Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 26, 2022

The ensemble picture is one way for any filmmaker to help guarantee audience interest, especially when the thespians collected are young and hungry for work, accepting roles to help their careers and limit their professional obligation, playing a small part in a larger puzzle of personalities. For 1999’s “200 Cigarettes,” the professional mission was to support the directorial debut of Rise Bramon Garcia, who made her mark on the industry as a casting director, filling movies such as “True Romance,” “Uncle Buck,” and “Born on the Fourth of July” with noted talent and future stars, making her popular with actors. “200 Cigarettes” provides ample opportunity for the talent to display some charm, with screenwriter Shana Larsen (this being her one and only credit) providing a tale of mismatched lovers, accidents, and smoking with the endeavor, which imagines the tangled ways of neurotics as they make their way to a New Year’s Eve party, ringing in 1982 while stomping around New York City. Garcia wallpapers the feature with soundtrack selections and tries to summon a period feel for the comedy, which maintains a flow of mental health issues, but laughs and heart at a little harder to find.

1981 is coming to a close, and the evening’s just beginning for a collection of young New Yorkers hoping to make the night memorable. Monica (Martha Plimpton) is hosting a party inside her apartment, offering a fresh spread of food and drinks, but she’s worried nobody will show up. Kevin (Paul Rudd) has just broken up with performance artist Ellie (Janeane Garofalo), dreading his birthday as he joins pal Lucy (Courtney Love) to celebrate his freedom. Val (Christin Ricci) and Stephie (Gaby Hoffmann) are two teens from Long Island trying to make their way to Monica’s shindig, only to get lost along the way, meeting local punks Tom (Casey Affleck) and Dave (Guillermo Diaz). Ellie (Angela Featherstone) and Bridget (Nicole Ari Parker) are a pair of loveless ladies hunting for a sexual adventure, targeting a Bartender (Ben Affleck) for seduction. And Jack (Jay Mohr) is trying to make something out of date night with Cindy (Kate Hudson), an accident-prone young woman trying to keep it together for a man she feels is special, despite his behavior. Circling the city is Disco Cabbie (Dave Chappelle), a driver with all the answers on this night of romantic possibility.

It's a small world after all in “200 Cigarettes,” with the characters either directly involved with or aware of Monica’s special New Year’s Eve party, which has caused the woman tremendous stress. She’s beautified her apartment and prepared a cream cheese dip, going against her bohemian instincts to make wonderful memories of this holiday, hoping to share the fun with a diverse collection of friends. What’s bothering Monica is a lack of attendees, growing increasingly anxious about the situation as the countdown to midnight begins, and nobody is showing up. Scattered throughout the city are the invited and aware, with Kevin reluctantly entering the night on his birthday, wrestling with a cynical attitude as he pals around with Lucy, who’s secretly in love with her friend. This subplot is the most defined in “200 Cigarettes,” rivaling the saga of Jack and Cindy, with this couple attempting to survive an evening with plenty of mishaps and misunderstandings, which permits Hudson to do a long-form impression of her mother, Goldie Hawn, playing up daffiness to add some slapstick comedy to the endeavor.

“200 Cigarettes” juggles the characters and their different relationship goals, with Larsen generating a jumble of broken people trying to piece themselves back together. There’s Eric (Brian McCardie), who’s been dumped by Bridget, trying to make sense of it all with his ex, Monica, who informs him of his less-than-impressive sexual skills. Val and Stephie offer the most movement of the ensemble, with the suburban girls getting lost in New York City, finding their way into a troubling part of town, meeting lovable punkers who offer beer and a soulful connection.

Garcia tries to manage numerous personalities, endeavoring to generate an overall sense of insecurity and adventure, giving the cast room to explore quirks and chemistry. The acting isn’t thrilling, but certain performances stand out, including Ben Affleck’s goofy take on the Bartender’s nervous flirting, and Chappelle brings some welcome oddity to the picture as the smooth, philosophical cabbie. Hoffman and Ricci go broad as the heavily decorated outsiders, but they stand out, giving “200 Cigarettes” some cartoon energy to help the feature survive some bad ideas, including Lucy’s dishonest ways with Kevin, which dilutes the romantic connection that’s supposed to develop between them.

Acting as the glue holding “200 Cigarettes” together is an impressive soundtrack of hits from the 1970s and ‘80s (co-curated by Elvis Costello), which are pumped throughout the film, filling all available space. The tunes sell the activity of bars and clubs, and they give the production a sense of time and place, which helps Garcia achieve the vibe she’s pursing with the endeavor. The soundtrack is a major presence in “200 Cigarettes,” occasionally called on to carry the feature when the subplots run out of steam.

200 Cigarettes Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The good news is that those who've previously purchased the "200 Cigarettes" DVD don't have to upgrade to a Blu-ray. The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation doesn't represent Paramount's finest home video hour, with the release resembling an upscaled DVD. This is an ancient scan from the company, with fine detail almost completely eliminated, lost in a weirdly blurry viewing experience. Faces lack texture, approaching waxiness, and city distances are softened, hurting the urban feel of the endeavor. Decoration, which this movie is filled with, is also diminished. Colors are feeble, offered hazy replication with a washed-out appearance. Distinct hues, such as pinks and blues, are underwhelming, and skintones are often bloodless. Delineation slips into solidification at times. Grain is zombified. Source doesn't display major areas of damage.

200 Cigarettes Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The original DVD release of "200 Cigarettes" listed a 5.1 Dolby Digital mix, but the 2022 Blu-ray presents a 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix. It's a slightly strange listening event, as the non-stop performances are often competing with the non-stop soundtrack selections. Music varies in volume, mostly respectful of dialogue exchanges, which are challenged at times, but never lost completely. The tunes retain compelling instrumentation and power. Atmospherics largely deal with street activity and crowd bustle.

200 Cigarettes Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• There is no supplementary material on this release.

200 Cigarettes Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While Monica's party is established as the endgame for the screenplay, Larsen is more about the journey than the destination, piecing together communication problems and relationship worry along the way. It doesn't make for an especially impressive understanding of lonely hearts, but the busy nature of "200 Cigarettes" manages to hold attention, with a few breakout moments. The production also offers time capsule appeal, as many ensemble endeavors do, showcasing young talents trying to work with what they've got, hoping to play into the range of emotion and tone Larsen creates while paying tribute to Garcia and her career interest in actors.