Sexiest Musical ever. A movie all about sex and music.Not sure what the writer director John Turturro wanted to venture before writing this film. But once he wrote, it clearly came as he wanted it. The songs are meticulously chosen and the lip sync done by actors adds up to the music.This movie is about marital issues in simplest terms. But there are layers which just keep coming along. James Gandolfini as Nick Murder has too many issues at home to deal with. If he deals with his wife, he would deal with all the issues. But sadly, he just cannot leave his wife. A shameless husband he is.Kate Winslet as Tula, the lingerie seller add so much life and color to her character that whenever she is turned on, she becomes the dirtiest woman. She is so naturally good I feel, he acceptance of this movie just re establishes her liking for meaty roles. Susan Sarandon as Kitty, Nick's wife just does what she believes is right for the scene. She is yelling or aggressive at Nick and has fun with her ex lover Angelo.The characters are sketched out from clichés and are written from director's brain which is so damn tough to decipher. Any film can end in any way, but life ends in one way only that is death. Do I need to say more. The story of infidelity was never told more beautifully or comically or even sexually.There are so many other characters like Nick's friend or Nick's daughters who are so very clichéd and just speak as they should. Acting is superb as expected but what takes the acting to a higher altitude is the dialogues. Each dialogue makes the character in itself interesting.I watched this film just be seeing the poster and getting to know that Barton FInk's John Turturro has directed it and was blown away by the time i finished watching.It's good in every which I shall say, but i's a tad longer than expected. Yet, it makes a great watch. I am unhappy that I missed such an opportunity to see it in theater but now, I have seen and am happy.I would go with 4/5 for one of the best musicals ever. And it's very good to see a movie for not taking the point it wanted to say seriously.

I was looking forward to this film with its great cast and the quirky lip synching song sequences. Instead it was the crudest and most horrible dialogue of any film I have seen and this spoilt the enjoyment. The song sequences were good but could have been better. Not in the same league as Pennies from Heaven. Does this screenwriter have a problem with women that he could be so crude about them in male conversations. I wondered whether Kate Winslett, with a strange northern accent wondered why she had agreed to it when she was given the script. Goodness knows what Eddie Izzard was doing in it. Shame that the writer/director was given the chance to be so self indulgent.

"Romance and Cigarettes" is an outrageous musical about the working class. It takes some getting used to, but it's well worth it, thanks to all of the talent in front of the camera and behind the scenes. It's risky, it's off the wall, it's bold, and at times, it's a riot. And you can't beat the soundtrack or the dancing policemen.James Gandolfini plays Nick Murder (who else), a cheating husband married to Susan Sarandon and involved with the nearly unrecognizable Kate Winslet, a red-headed slut. They have three daughters: Constance (Mary-Louise Parker), Rosebud (Aida Turturro, Gandolfini's sister in the Sopranos; Turturro is one year younger than Gandolfini and Mary-Louise Parker is three years younger), and Baby (Mandy Moore), who have their own romance problems. The cast also includes Steve Buscemi, Bobby Carnavale, Eddie Izzard, and Christopher Walken. The characters all break into song with no notice, and the music includes "Piece of My Heart," "This is a Man's World," "Delilah," "Trouble," and many others.The film chronicles the choice Nick Murder must make as he grapples with his life.Very quirky and not for everyone, but some really marvelous performances, great music, and both fun and poignant moments.

Romance & Cigarettes, John Turturro's third feature as a director, is not one of the best musicals ever made, as excessively enthusiastic supporters will have you believe. Nor is it the atrocity some detractors claim it to be. It's an imperfect film, but it's hugely entertaining, filled to the bone with raw energy and finely acted, sung and danced.The story, like in most musicals, is ridiculously simple: Nick Murder (James Gandolfini), a construction worker from Brooklyn, has been happily married to Kitty (Susan Sarandon) for years, living in peace with her and their three daughters (Mandy Mooore, Mary-Louise Parker and Aida Turturro). Then one day she discovers he's been having an affair with an English call-girl named Tula (Kate Winslet) and promptly throws him out of the house. As he keeps seeing Tula and asking his colleague (Steve Buscemi) for advice, Nick has nothing better to do but express his disappointment through a number of extravagant musical numbers, while Kitty plots revenge with the hot-headed Cousin Bo (Christopher Walken).The film's strength doesn't lie in the plot, for it is merely a contrivance, but in its execution: Romance & Cigarettes is the most foul-mouthed musical since the South Park motion picture. There is a neat contrast between the singing and the talking: the former is beautiful and almost poetic (Walken's rendition of "Delilah" is a standout), the latter joyously filthy, especially when the delightfully bold Winslet is on screen. It's Steven Sondheim meets Kevin Smith, and John Turturro plays on that absurdity with glee.It is that absurdity, paired with superb performances, that makes the movie fly: from Walken's typically ridiculous haircut to Sarandon's witty remarks on adultery ("Your father went on a beaver diet") via the paradoxical fact that Aida Turturro, Gandolfini's sister in The Sopranos, plays his daughter in this film (she's only a year younger than him), the movie holds up well as long as no one starts to question the logic of certain things (like the inexplicable scene where Nick gets circumcised). The director knows this, and therefore it is strange that he chooses to end his experimental ride with a bleak and utterly flat epilogue, which totally contrasts the senseless energy of everything that's happened up to that point. Perhaps such an effect was deliberate, but it does diminish the impact of the conclusion, despite the cast's best efforts.Overall, this is a film that won't please everybody. In fact, those who aren't familiar with Turturro's style, as an actor or a director, might find it hard to embrace the madness that permeates the picture. Nevertheless, Romance & Cigarettes remains a worthy effort and deserving of a viewing, if only to see Kate Winslet talk dirty and Christopher Walken dance like few people are able to.