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Blue in the Face

 
Movies:

Blue in the Face

  • Directors: Wayne Wang; Paul Auster
  • AMG Rating: starstarstar
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Movie Type: Comedy of Manners, Urban Comedy
  • Themes: Culture Clash, Opposites Attract, Faltering Friendships
  • Main Cast: Harvey Keitel, Lou Reed, Roseanne, Michael J. Fox, Jim Jarmusch
  • Release Year: 1995
  • Country: US
  • Run Time: 89 minutes
  • MPAA Rating: R

Plot

Director Wayne Wang and screenwriter Paul Auster had enough storylines and characters left over from their charming comedy Smoke to make another film, so they shot Blue In The Face immediately after Smoke was completed. The film once again centers on the Brooklyn Cigar Store and manager Auggie (Harvey Keitel), although most of the other characters are different. The store owner's frustrated wife Dot (Roseanne) is one of them, and one of the plotlines follows her attempts to seduce Auggie. Madonna, Michael J. Fox, Lily Tomlin, and Lou Reed (as himself) also put in appearances. Blue In The Face was shot without a complete script and presents a unique combination of distinctive performances, oddball characters, improvisations, and raffish scenes. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Review

Shot in five days and with only an outline to follow, Blue in the Face offers many surprises. After falling in love with the idea of Brooklyn, NY, as Anytown, USA, on steroids and uppers, Wayne Wang and Paul Auster convinced the brothers Weinstein of Miramax to give some cash and marketing muscle to a faux documentary on a week in the life of a cigar shop in Park Slope. They also enlisted some of the most famous figurers of the New York underground hip gone big (Lou Reed, Jim Jarmusch, Giancarlo Esposito, Madonna) to ham it up for the camera. Far lighter and much more fun than Smoke, Blue in the Face is not concerned with story or plot as much as it is with characters, of which the film and Brooklyn have no shortage. Jim Jarmusch and Harvey Keitel have a natural ease with each other as they discuss the power of a cigarette. Michael J. Fox has his funniest moment on the big screen as a colorful local with a clipboard, and Lou Reed is hysterical as he explains in his trademark deadpan why he feels comfortable in New York and how he plans to market sunglasses. Some of the real-life folks included in the film are just as compelling, like The Bag Man who feels it's his duty to vacate all plastic bags from tree branches in which they become entangled, and a Coney Island Girl who knows she has to get out of Brooklyn but isn't sure why. The film is a touch overly sentimental about the Dodgers (time to get over it people), and the final production number with RuPaul tries too hard. But as any resident with a 718 area code will tell you, it's refreshing to see a film nail down life in the outer boroughs without resorting to clichés and stereotypes. ~ Scott Engel, All Movie Guide

Cast

Lily Tomlin - The waffle eater; Victor Argo - Vinnie; Michael Badalucco - Statistician; Teodorino Bello - Statistician; Keith David - Jackie Robinson; Giancarlo Esposito - Tommy; Esteban Fernandez - Dancer; Eileen Galindo - Dancer; Mel Gorham - Violet; Peggy Gormley; Jared Harris - Jimmy Rose; Robert Jackson - Brooklyn Resident; Ahmed Ben Larby - Statistician; William Preston - Statistician; Raymond Rodriguez - Dancer; Malik Yoba - The Watch Man; James Dickson - Dancer; Madonna - Singing Telegram Girl; Michelle Hurst - Statistician; Mira Sorvino - The young lady; Sharif Rashed; Lisa Scarola - Dancer; José Zuñiga - Jerry; RuPaul - Dancer; Debra Wilson - Statistician; Stephen Gevedon; Charles LaSalle - Dancer; Chelsea Altman - Statistician; Luc Sante - Brooklyn Resident; Chief Bey - Brooklyn Resident; Diana Brownstone - Dancer; Billy Cherry - Statistician; Liz Anne Curtis - Dancer; Rehanna Ellis - Statistician/Dancer; Ian Frazier - Brooklyn Resident; Sasalina Gambino - Brooklyn Resident; Cotton Green - Dancer; Tatienne Hendricks-Tellefsen; Edmund Ikeda - Statistician; John Lurie National Orchestra; Rusty Kanokoci - Brooklyn Resident; Nick Kosovich - Dancer; Kyle Larson - Dancer; Gregory Misclagno - Dancer; Liz Ramos - Dancer; Dale Stotts - Dancer; Ginger Thatcher - Dancer

Credit

Heidi Levitt - Casting, Linda Talcott - Choreography, Hisami Kuriowa - Co-producer, Hisami Kuroiwa - Co-producer, Claudia Brown - Costume Designer, Todd Pfeiffer - First Assistant Director, Mary Beth Mann - First Assistant Director, Wayne Wang - Director, Paul Auster - Director, Maysie Hoy - Editor, Christopher Tellefsen - Editor, John Lurie - Composer (Music Score), John Hurst - Musical Direction/Supervision, Kalina Ivanov - Production Designer, Adam Holender - Cinematographer, Harvey Wang - Cinematographer, Harvey Keitel - Producer, Peter Newman - Producer, Bob Weinstein - Producer, Harvey Weinstein - Producer, Diana Phillips - Producer, Greg Johnson - Producer, Drew Kunin - Sound/Sound Designer, Wayne Wang - Screenwriter, Paul Auster - Screenwriter

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Idioms: blue in the face
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Exhausted from anger, strain, or other great effort. For example, You can argue until you're blue in the face, but I refuse to go. This expression alludes to the bluish skin color resulting from lack of oxygen, which presumably might result from talking until one was breathless. See also under talk one's arm off.


Wikipedia: Blue in the Face
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Blue in the Face

Promotional movie poster
Directed by Paul Auster
Wayne Wang
Written by Paul Auster
Wayne Wang
Starring Harvey Keitel
Victor Argo
Giancarlo Esposito
Roseanne Barr
Michael J. Fox
Lily Tomlin
Mira Sorvino
Lou Reed
Mel Gorham
Jim Jarmusch
Malik Yoba
Music by John Lurie
Cinematography Adam Holender
Harvey Wang
Editing by Maysie Hoy
Christopher Tellefsen
Distributed by Miramax Films
Release date(s) 1995
Running time 89 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Blue in the Face is a 1995 comedy directed by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster. It stars Harvey Keitel, Victor Argo, Giancarlo Esposito, Roseanne Barr, Michael J. Fox,Lily Tomlin, Mira Sorvino, Lou Reed, Mel Gorham,Jim Jarmusch,and Malik Yoba.

Blue in the Face was filmed over a five-day period as a follow-up to Wang's 1995 movie Smoke. During production of Smoke, Keitel and the others ad-libbed scenes in-character between takes and a sequel was made using this improvised material.

Lily Tomlin was nominated for an American Comedy Award as "Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture" for her performance in this picture.

Madonna performs a "Singing Telegram" song in one scene of the movie.

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Copyrights:

Movies. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Movie Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Blue in the Face" Read more