On first look, this movie seems appealing - the coffee house is certainly a relatable setting, and the characters all have their humorous moments of witty dialogue, however short-lived. But on the long glance, and after 89 minutes, the overall performance leaves a rather bitter aftertaste. Because, lets face it, the movie brings up nearly every socially awkward situation possible in a way that tries to make light of it all, but doesn't quite get away with it. The mentally ill grandmother who brings a shotgun into the café and then timidly asks for a cup of tea, the dumped boyfriend yelling "I have cancer" in order to avoid a beating, the lawyer who wears his fiancé's underwear while cleaning, the gay waiter who breaks into tears, the threesome with twins - it's a bit too much for this movie to carry. Maybe it's movie's self-contained nature; like a play with one main set, I half expected to see the cast of "Noises Off" to run across the screen.
Katherine Heigl's performance is a bit strange here too - while she did give a better British accent than I expected she only shot off these short little lines, as if the screenwriter was worried her accent wouldn't last through a paragraph. Her comic timing is alright, but her character is hardly developed, and since she is probably the film's biggest draw right now, this seems unwise.
What is most unsettling is that this movie can't seem to decide what it wants to be; a slice of neurotic 'real' life or a satire of the crazy social situations that emerge when people get coffee-ed up? Are we meant to like these characters despite their quirks - which are basically unbelievable, because in what world would all this happen in one coffee house in one day? - or think they're all nuts? But Caffeine does attempt to wrap up the ending with the very odd grandmother walking down the street with granddaughter Mena Suvari, declaring "That was a nice day." I just hope all my days aren't that nice.
Katherine Heigl's performance is a bit strange here too - while she did give a better British accent than I expected she only shot off these short little lines, as if the screenwriter was worried her accent wouldn't last through a paragraph. Her comic timing is alright, but her character is hardly developed, and since she is probably the film's biggest draw right now, this seems unwise.
What is most unsettling is that this movie can't seem to decide what it wants to be; a slice of neurotic 'real' life or a satire of the crazy social situations that emerge when people get coffee-ed up? Are we meant to like these characters despite their quirks - which are basically unbelievable, because in what world would all this happen in one coffee house in one day? - or think they're all nuts? But Caffeine does attempt to wrap up the ending with the very odd grandmother walking down the street with granddaughter Mena Suvari, declaring "That was a nice day." I just hope all my days aren't that nice.