Caffeine (2006) User Reviews

Neither fish nor flesh nor film

[gloshpit · 5/10 · 26 January 2008]

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.

Stuck in the middle

[frafoa · 4/10 · 18 April 2007]

A uneven day in a mundane café.Everyone brought his own problems into the scene.And suddenly all the problems were solved just before the credit started rolling.I have no problem with happy ending.But this movie seems so trivial and unfocused.It's not trite,and not subversive also.Just sort of stuck in the middle,the director intended to try something new and just fell by the wayside.Although there are so many characters,each in a different quandary,but there is no one we can really relate to or even makes us feel a little bit resonant.Mena Suvari is still edgy and smarting.Katherine Heigl grabbed the chance to play a totally different character during the hiatus.Callum Blue is once again a sleazy but enchanting lover.Jules Leyser did a good work portraying the canny but vulnerable,soon-bride-to-be,lawyer.But none of these cameos left any impression for you to consider what if you were in his/her shoes.

Dull as ditch water

[two-robinsons · 4/10 · 11 October 2007]

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.

Be Caffeine Free

[theprovinces-1 · 3/10 · 16 May 2008]

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.

Nice stage-like Brit comedy

[rooprect · 7/10 · 31 January 2013]

First of all, I have to come to the defence (spelled with a 'c') of the actors' British accents. Unless your name is Henry Higgins, I don't think you'll mind what you hear here. Now Keanu Reeves doing Shakespeare or Julia Roberts doing Mary Reilly, THOSE are bad accents. In "Caffeine" the two American fakers had me fooled enough to think they were actual Brits.

Now on to the movie. Like many good Brit comedies, the overall plot isn't as important as the witty criss-crossing of subplots. Like a clever stage play, that and some good acting is all you need. The whole story is set in a restaurant: the dining room, kitchen, and back balcony. Basically it's "a day in the life" of a bunch of oddball characters working and dining in a cafe.

The stories revolve mostly around romantic/sexual relationships and the absurd situations they create. Like a good Shakespearean romp... or the 70s sitcom "Three's Company", all the mayhem is the result of misunderstandings, awkwardness and overreactions. The film starts out somewhat tame, but as it progresses and we get to know each character, they seem to become increasingly insane. One of my fave segments was the meek vegetarian girl who was subjected to an excruciating blind date with a gun-toting macho man. By the time the movie is near its end, anything goes.

If you like dialogue-driven films that feel like plays, such as "Death at a Funeral" (original version 2007), "Le dîner de cons" (original version 1998), "My Tiny Universe" (2004), "Deathtrap" (1982) or even the classic "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1966), I think this movie will be worth your time.

Worth A Shot

[mansxu2 · 11 November 2008]

This movie was really cute. It made me laugh out loud at some of the hilarious and sometimes ridiculous events that happened to people. Even though some of the things that took place were really giving me that "yeah right" feeling, it still portrayed that "it could happen" feeling as well. The acting is good - even though it was a bit odd to watch some American actors pull of a British accent - and the story line is interesting and keeps you hooked just to see what happens next. It's neat to see how all of the characters are connected through the café and how it impacts their lives. I would definitely recommend this for a late night or rainy Saturday afternoon movie!

Atrocious Rip-off of already terrible movie "Waiting"

[stephengraley · 2/10 · 5 May 2007]

I Think my Summary just about covers it really.

This movie runs in almost the same direction as the film "Waiting". It runs through a mundane day at the local coffee shop, not exactly Starbucks or Costa here.

The worst thing i have to say about this movie is that being set in England and the English(Yes i am English) not being the most polite, in fact quite ignorant people, well the characters in this are all nut cases. I hope only that people watching this movie don't think that all people in England are like that because we certainly are not.

The movie as i said has a parallel with the film "Waiting", Dull, boring, unfunny and was too long at 80 odd minutes. The characters wandered along through the movie but ultimately you don't care what happens to them in the end.

I would not really suggest this, wait until its free to watch on your satellite/regional TV.

Sorry to spoil this for anyone eager to see it but if you do watch please remember that i did warn you.

" but they were twins! What was I supposed to do?!"

[mario_c · 7/10 · 29 April 2014]

It's a little and simple movie entirely shot inside a coffee shop in London but it's quite entertaining and funny.

The plot is all about the crossed talks between the costumers and also the employees of the coffee shop and all type of hilarious and absurd situations happens! From the girl who broke up with her boyfriend because he had a threesome with two identical twin girls to the crazy old lady who is shooting a gun inside the bar!! Not to mention the story of the guy who dresses with his wife's underwear…

Well there are a lot of crazy stories in this film… It just proves one more time that each person is a book full of chapters and that everyone has his little secret written in one of those chapters… I appreciated this movie especially because of that and also because it crosses many characters, stories, funny and crazy moments in a simple and unpretentious way.

The cast is good and includes some known actors like Mena Suvari. It was nice to seeing her "practicing" her British accent… I enjoyed this film and I score it 7/10.

Humor can't rescue Caffeine from a bitter aftertaste

[nats_always_write · 3/10 · 21 February 2009]

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.

Nice to see with good plot

[dgmsimoes · 6/10 · 2 April 2023]

Not the best acting or editing but a good plot that makes us want to see it until the end.

A nice comedy to see and relax during a weekend evening ir just when you fill lazy.

He see how the team managing need to solve their own problems while in each coffee table a different situation us going on.

Nice to see how these stories unfold and some cross each other making us hanging around to watch it until the end.

As a movie you can easily find better one. As an entertainment it is very fine and reaches good comedy side.

So, you loose nothing to see it and for sure it will leave you with a smile in your face when it ends.

Caffeine

[tahnee_c · 3/10 · 8 August 2007]

I think that this movie could have had the potential to be very successful & hilarious but, it was such a let-down for me. The story-line was a bit too random & slow at times. I didn't fancy this movie at all. I'm glad that I rented it and didn't purchase I'll tell you that. It seemed like it would be a good flick because of certain actors & actresses that I've seen in other movies. However, If I were them, I'd leave this movie out of my filmography. There were few remotely humorous parts. I didn't like the way that part of the story was left up in the air like about Rachel and the new job as well as Rachel and Charlie. Personally, if my boyfriend did what Charlie did to Rachel, I would be so hurt and wouldn't allow him back into my life.

Smart

[Rose-22 · 8/10 · 21 March 2020]

Lovely little comedy fm across the pond. Enjoyed it

Cool concept for a film but fails through bad direction.

[CindyH · 5/10 · 8 June 2008]

I'm not going to write a detailed synopsis of the film; you can get that anywhere online. This "comment" is to illustrate what I think about the movie, so you can better decide if you want to see it.

The idea is actually a good one and an alternative title such as, "A Day in a Café," really describes it better. I like that it's all based in one general location - similar to a play - and that it all occurs within a short time period of one day. It's just about in real time. I also like that almost everyone has a secret of some sort, that eventually comes out.

One thing this movie does, that I think is really creative (though isn't a new concept by any means), is it displays for us the mental picture one gets as a secret is uncovered. To understand this, imagine for a moment that your best male friend is wearing a dress and an old lady's hat. That mental image in your mind is the same image that we get to see through the character's eyes as they find out someone else's secret.

It's all slapstick comedy to the extreme, so it's all in fun. One reviewer here worried that all Americans would think all the English really act like that. That's the silliest notion in the world. Slapstick comedy is one of the oldest and best types of comedy and is familiar to us all.

Now for the not-so-great parts.

I have no problems with Americans portraying the English and vice versa, so long as its done well. Unfortunately for us though, it is not. Both Katherine Heigl and Mike Vogel need to stick to American roles. Imagine an American actor switching throughout the film between both a regional southern American dialect and one from the Bronx. Can you imagine such a horror? Well put that into British terms and this is what you get from Vogel. I never could figure out what region he was supposed to be from. There were even moments where he sounded Scottish! Heigl on the other hand lapsed between American and British, making her nationality questionable. Because of this, I kept expecting to find out that being an American schizophrenic was her secret. I'm not saying that their acting abilities were the problem, it was just their linguistic abilities.

I've also no problems with boisterous comedy either, but the comedy in this film was (for a lack of a better word) incongruent. The writing was fine and the jokes worked some of the time, but the timing was off or something. I don't believe that it was the actors or the writing at fault, but the director. Whatever it was, it made it very uneven.

I was telling my husband about it this morning. The interesting thing about this is that the movie came off funnier in my retelling of the story, then it actually was. My 19-year-old daughter entered the room to hear us laughing about the story. She asked what movie we were talking about and my husband promptly replied, "She's been laughing (very hard I might add), telling me about this movie that she supposedly didn't like for the past twenty-five minutes." Indeed!

To sum it up; if you know in advance that it's crass, off-beat, has bad timing and bad direction then you might actually enjoy it. Just keep in mind that it is loaded with errors and don't have a high expectation. Would I watch it again? Maybe, if nothing else is on. Would I buy it on DVD? Absolutely not.

Not Bad

[clare-141 · 21 January 2007]

I randomly saw this DVD on the shelf of my local video shop and decided to give it a go I was surprised. It is a movie that is based in one crazy day at a hip coffee shop in England. The story lines revolves around all aspects of the café the patrons the bosses and the managers you not only get to see the inner-workings of the café and the workers but you get to see private and some times hilarious and touching lives of the patrons. There are some moments that you wonder where is this going but once you get into the flow of the movie you really get hooked. Worth seeing, if you have some spare time, sometimes though the English accent of M.S gets a bit annoying but she does pull it of well.

British humor?

[jewelfires · 1/10 · 7 July 2022]

Mostly cringeworthy.

The majority of the actors were clearly not British with bad accents, but that's not what made the movie bad. That would just be the reliance on vulgar language and crude situations to make for a storyline.

I wanted to smack the actors most of the time and tell them to grow up and get back to work. For instance, the waitress who ignored her senile grandmother - who was especially irritating in her role.

Not sure why Katherine Heigel chose to be in such a juvenile and formulaic movie, but it must've been early in her career.

There was never an opportunity missed to make the audience roll their eyes or cringe, as with the random depressing guitar song or the crazy old woman's violent antics or the obvious conclusion of who's 'rubber' it must have been. Almost comical how it tried to tie up all the loose ends with a happy ending despite how unbelievable it would be.

Fast-forward-worthy

[fildurh2 · 3/10 · 9 January 2017]

Cliché-ridden, wooden stereotypical characters, totally unbelievable situations, disjointed, emotionally shallow, patronising, platitudinous, visually constipated, trivilisation of serious issues . . . the only good thing going for this movie was the location - quite a nice cafe it seemed though near-empty most of the time and soooooo quiet . . . except when someone was screaming out obscenities . . . oh, and as usual the actors, in this case doing their best with such an appalling script. Did anyone involved in making/writing this gumph ever try doing some time in a cafe for example. What was it then . . . a try-out for a series . . . comical, outlandish vignettes of cafe society? Or just a limp attempt by a writer to describe their pathetic existence drinking coffees while they sat attempting to coax their imagination into second gear? I was reminded of Benny Hill, but a benny Hill taking himself seriously and so cooooool . . . . Abysmal.

Perfect with all its imperfections

[Arien_Kartheiser · 10 January 2008]

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.

A slight disappointment

[Gordon-11 · 16 September 2007]

This film is about the chaotic events that happen in a day in a medium-sized London cafe.

Many have compared this film to "Waiting". I think this film focuses more on interpersonal relationships and emotional aspects following shocking revelations. It could have been a great film exploring such issues. However, the story is not so well written. There is too much jumping about from one character to another, making it slightly hard to follow, and decreases to coherence of the plot. It is not so much a comedy, as there are few funny moments. If it was not marketed as a comedy, then there would have been less disappointment.

exercise

[Vincentiu · 20 June 2013]

nice. and chaotic.full of good intentions and noble desires but , in many parts, confuse and too strange to not be common. not the cast or the script saves this film. but the expectation of public. because it is not bad but seems be a collection of crumbs without becomes bread.this is basic sin. than - temptation to be original or a kind of Woody Allen films. nice actors, not very inspired humor, many links, couple problems, gay relation, friendship limits, first date, a strange old lady, coffee and escape from a bizarre circle. a lot of ingredients and not very tasty food. sure, it is not bad option for a Sunday evening.