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Blue in the Face (1995)

A review by Damian Cannon.
Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1997
A free-form sequel to Smoke, this rapidly shot ode to Brooklyn proves remarkably entertaining despite the wafer-thin storyline. Auggie Wren (Harvey Keitel) is still running the Brooklyn Cigar Company, as he has for 13 or 14 years. One day, whilst he's loitering outside with his girlfriend Violet (Mel Gorham), a young kid rushes past with a woman in hot pursuit. Appraising the situation, Auggie gives chase and quickly hauls the miscreant back by the scruff of his neck. The woman (Mira Sorvino) is grateful for the return of her bag but starts to soften when she sees how innocent the thief looks, deciding to let him go. Sensing this shift in attitude Auggie argues that he should be punished, to set a good example, but the victim doesn't agree. Suddenly Auggie snatches her bag and hands it to the kid. When pressed he simply smiles and says "That's Brooklyn".

As a long-standing fixture in the neighbourhood, Auggie's tobacconist acts as a type of meeting-place for local characters. Just about everyone drops in, from regular customers dying for a smoke to school-kids stocking up on candy. Some visitors stand out though, such as Lou Reed explaining why he still lives in New York and Jim Jarmusch thoughtfully devouring his final cigarette with Auggie. Jim's decided to quit and, in a lengthy session which reaches back into their respective childhoods, finally inhales his last puffs. Meanwhile, random Brooklyn residents reel off statistics and reveal aspects of their lives, adding a distinctly documentary tinge to the proceedings.

The plot, such that it is, relates to the owner Vinnie's (Victor Argo) plan to sell off the premises. It's losing money and he certainly has every right to dispose of the Cigar Company, although Auggie argues passionately about just how much his shop is a resource for the community. Clear parallels are drawn with the dissolution of the Brooklyn Dodgers (a baseball team) and the way in which their home ground was converted into apartments. Vinnie is also receiving flak from his wife Dot (Roseanne), to whom he promised a Las Vegas vacation. The disappointment of being let down again, as she has so many times before, is too much for Dot to bear. In a whirlwind of emotion her anger, frustration and determination threaten to overwhelm Auggie as he watches from the sidelines. Still, the borough of Brooklyn continues on its steady way.

While Blue in the Face utilises some roles from its predecessor, this film is rooted in its location rather than in its cast. The locale of Brooklyn is all, colouring the reactions of its inhabitants, casting a shadow of past history and gathering disparate cultures in its embrace. The Cigar Company is but a microcosm of the greater whole, a human-scale environment where friends can meet on a one-to-one level. The addition of a multitude of cameos, ranging from the obvious to the transformed (watch for Michael J Fox), imparts a neat twist to the whole set-up. The cast are plainly enjoying themselves, thriving under the pressure of improvisation and limited takes. The dialogue sounds fresh and plausible, if a little rough around the edges (unlike so many over- worked scripts). One of my favourite individuals in Blue in the Face is the man with a penchant for hunting down errant plastic bags. However, you're likely to find someone as equally compelling, such is the cosmopolitan range of both the movie and Brooklyn itself.

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