Chinese Coffee (2000)

 

Hey, I could have used this for my tribute to Al Pacino a few years ago. 

Synopsis: It’s basically 99 minutes of Al Pacino and Jerry Orbach yelling at each other and drinking coffee (there are also flashbacks of the two of them drinking java) inside a dumpy apartment. 

Blurb From the DVD jacket: “There’s a fine line between friendship and betrayal.” 

What Did I Learn?: 1) A writer’s primary activity is promotion. 2) In America, you are what you say you are. 3) The cure for insomnia is death. 4) You can’t be old in Hollywood unless you’ve been young there. 5) There comes a point in life when one will no longer bow and scrape. 6) The advertising industry is staffed with trendy fucks in running clothes spreading disease and dementia. 

You Might Like This Movie If: You're a big fan of....Chinese coffee! 

Really?: 1) See: “Synopsis.” Holy shit, most of this film takes place between 1:00 am and 2:1m, and these guys are guzzling java like there’s no tomorrow, and Harry (Pacino) actually complains he’s suffering from insomnia? 2) Wait a minute… Jake (Orbach) practically commands Harry to write a personal memoir with plenty of venom, and he somehow takes offence when Harry’s manuscript merely uses his quotes? I can understand Jake’s hypocrisy, but I’m surprised Harry never reminds him of that conversation during their argument. 3) Gee…if I was down to my last $5, I don’t think I would blow $3.50 on a bunch of Photomat snapshots because I suddenly wondered if my face looked funny. 

Rating: Chinese Coffee certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (pun intended!). Based upon the play by Ira Lewis, this movie is really just a long dialogue between two old friends who have grown to loathe each other, and there isn’t much of a plot. Having said that, Orbach and Pacino share some great onscreen chemistry, and Chinese Coffee is surprisingly spell-binding; I found myself genuinely interested in what these men had to say, and wondering where their discussion would lead. Highly recommended. 9/10 stars. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118852/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_5