Jarmusch regulars join for a jolt of caffeine

The whole hipster slacker cafe aesthetic - hanging around with a friend or two, inhaling espresso drinks and nicotine - gets celebrated, oh-so-coolly, in Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes. A series of 11 vignettes that range from instantly forgettable to simmeringly sage, Coffee and Cigarettes offers various oddball encounters that touch on themes of celebrity, physics, physic (as in the art of healing), professional jealousy, music and miscommunication.

And in just about every black- and-white short, the titular provisions of caffeine and tobacco are put to some use. (Being Brits, Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan, who star in one of the stronger pieces, "Cousins?," swap coffee for a nice pot of tea.)

Very slight and, in the early going, slightly annoying, Coffee and Cigarettes is a long-borning Jarmusch project. As far back as Down by Law (1986), the New York indie auteur was taking his cast members aside and having them sit for goofy little improvs over a small table and, yes, coffee and cigarettes. Hence, the collection's first few pieces star the actors of Jarmusch's first few movies: Down by Law's Roberto Benigni (sitting with deadpan comedian Steve Wright) in the flimsy "Strange to Meet You"; Cinqué Lee and Steve Buscemi (both from Mystery Train) joined by Joie Lee in "Twins"; and Isaach De Bankolé (from Night on Earth), meeting up with Alex Descas in "No Problem."

In "Somewhere In California," another Down by Law veteran - croaky Tom Waits - encounters the lean, scary-looking rock icon Iggy Pop for a tete-a-tete in a divey bar. The two gas on about quitting smoking, then light a few (that's the beauty of quitting, they agree - you can smoke without worry) and size each other up, professionally speaking.

The first half of Coffee and Cigarettes is pretty thin - jokey and hip, without much substance, or meaning. It's all artfully photographed by Robby Müller and Frederick Elmes (each short features a lingering overhead shot of the ashtray-and-cup-and-saucer-strewn table) and embellished with fragments of song - surf rock, jazz, Jamaican ska.

Things pick up with the latter pieces, which were shot independently of any ongoing Jarmusch production and consequently feel less like outtakes, afterthoughts. They also feel scripted, which is, in this case, a good thing.

Cate Blanchett percolates in "Cousins" - playing a variation of her movie star self and a cash-strapped, punky family relation from down under, visiting the actress in a swanky hotel where she's holed up for a press junket. The Molina-Coogan episode follows a similar through-line about family connection and fame, with the 24 Hour Party People star acting haughty and indifferent to Molina's enthusiastic discovery that the two men might be related.

While Jack White of the White Stripes delivers a diverting discourse on physics to his sister in "Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil," easily the strongest of the shorts is "Delirium" - a caffeine-fueled threesome starring RZA and GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan and a guy who serves them a pot of joe, and who turns out to be Bill Murray. Ineffably droll and drinking straight from the pot, Murray - moonlighting as a waiter, he explains - hangs around long enough to hack, crack wise and steal the movie.

Contact movie critic Steven Rea

at 215-854-5629 or srea@phillynews.com.

Coffee and Cigarettes

*** (out of four stars)

Produced by Joana Vicente and Jason Kliot, written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, photography by Robby Müller, Frederick Elmes, Tom DiCillo and Ellen Kuras, music by various artists, distributed by United Artists.

Running time: 1 hour, 36 mins.

With Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright, Alfred Molina, Tom Waits, Iggy Pop, Cate Blanchett, RZA, GZA, Bill Murray and others.

Parent's guide: R (profanity)

Playing at: Ritz Five and Ritz Sixteen/NJ