LouHomey
From my favorite movies..
Glucedee
It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
Myron Clemons
A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
theprovinces-1
If screenwriter Dean Craig was a friend of yours you'd be quite hard pressed to find something nice to say (because of course, you could never tell him the truth, which is that Caffeine is a pretty awful movie.There is a reason why nearly everyone who's commented on the film makes reference to the bad British accents put on by the American actors, most notably Mena Suvari and Mark Pellegrino. What's truly frightening is that the IMDb references the latter as an acting teacher and his performance is the most over-the-top in a film full of forced situations and performances. And this includes Callum Blue who, while adorable, is playing his Mason from "Dead Like Me," which probably would've fine if he'd been given better lines (and situations).Surprisingly, the most spot-on accent is done by one of the lesser-known actors, actor Mike Vogel (who Dean on "Grounded for Life"). Katherine Heigl's accent is actually not bad (and certainly far superior to Suvari's and Pellegrino's). Roz Witt's, too, is terrible. It was quite smart of Breckin Meyer to just be American.It's the film's weakest element -- the idea of insisting it be set in a London restaurant, when it could be set anywhere, especially where the weaker American actors could focus on their performances rather than a wobbly accent. Repeatedly throwing in a "bloody," "shag," "knickers," "shat," or "fancy," just isn't enough to effectively establish this as London.From the opening scene, it's obvious that this was filmed in Los Angeles. Every outdoor shot has the same two old-school Brit Taxi and Double Decker bus passing back and forth. All three vehicles are preserved like they've been borrowed from the Petersen (Car) Museum.Ah, here's what you could say to Craig -- his actors are very attractive.
gloshpit
When the opening scene had two 'stoned' kids explaining in clumsy exposition just how stoned they were ("I am getting anxious! I am so stoned!") I feared that this would be a waste of money, especially given the quality of the trailers on the DVD. But although it's not brilliant, it's actually quite watchable.The first thing I stated when it had finished was this wasn't really a movie per se, but more like an extended play for television. The style is very much like a theatre piece with a series of dialogues and subplots between sets of characters, leeching between groups at times. The acting was competent and the accents were quite convincing in the cases of Heigl and Suvari although no awards are likely to be won.The problem I think many people will have is that it's marketed as a "hilarious" comedy, when it's not. It's an observational piece and a study in embarrassment, more along the same lines of The Office than blatant out-and-out comedy. Although it does have wit to it, this is not a comedic film and doesn't even *feel* like an actual film, so it's liable to confuse people. I doubt if I'd watch it again, but it was entertaining while it lasted and doesn't really deserve the lambasting some of the comments have given it.
Kali Kartheiser (Arien_Kartheiser)
People compared this to Waiting, I beg to disagree, its most like "La cena" than any other movie, has really funny bits, and shows us different realities, and different relationships, and give us a lesson on acceptance and love. The acting is not worth of an award but if you have no further expectations, this movie is funny, witty and has this weird -yet- sweet twist at the end. I saw it because of Callum Blue who happens to be perfect as the tortured unfaithful boyfriend, you almost believe his pain, but who takes the scene is Rozz Witt's grandmother, she's just too funny for words. I thought that a movie with Mena Suvari after America Beauty wouldn't be good at all but I really liked.There are some pervy things that made me think, that someone's normal is not the standard and that's good, otherwise life would be just boring.its perfect for those days with friends or for yourself when all you need is to laugh at something that could happen to you.
two-robinsons
I'm still trying to work out how and indeed why this film was ever made. When will filmmakers understand that scripts featuring a variety of characters and hopefully a number of unifying themes are really difficult to pull off? Caffeine doesn't even come close to getting it right. To make matters worse as a comedy it is woefully unfunny to the point of painful. In a nutshell, we're given access to a day in the 'zany' lives of the patrons and staff of the Black Cat Cafe. It's the usual stuff, someone's boyfriend has been cheating on them, someone's grandmother has gone doolally, someone else is waiting for a call from their agent, someone is on the blind date from hell when her ex turns up, someone else is revealed to be a transvestite. Someone turns out to be gay. Each story line plays out like a small sketch and appears to belong to a different film entirely as nothing seems to bind them together. Characters are so undeveloped it's impossible to work up anything approaching sympathy for them and their situations. Indeed characters like Tom the waiter don't even appear to have a back story. The fact it's set in London is incidental as apart from regular glimpses of the odd double decker bus and black cab, it could be anywhere. Even Rachel the owner of the cafe sounds northern. Casting Katherine Heigel and Mena Suvari as Brits seems an odd decision as neither one had box office when this film was released and their attempts at the accent is woeful to say the least. Surely as London is known to be a cosmopolitan city it would have made more sense for them to be Americans? Sadly the basic idea is strong and in other hands Caffeine could have ended up being and entertaining and thought provoking rather than dull as ditch water.
