200 Cigarettes
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: February 26, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
35
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
14
Negative:
9

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
200 Cigarettes doesn't have a bad scene or a false note. The picture is a succession of pointed little moments, nicely written by Shana Larsen and acted with comic assurance and sensitivity. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
A light comedy, pure and simple (and hardly unfamiliar), but its makers sustain its energy through the unraveling of an intricate plot and bring to it a certain edge through a witty, sharp sense of observation. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Very much a looking-back movie; its most obvious model is "American Graffiti." But if you know that particular slice of early '80s Manhattan, you may be as amused as I was. [26 Feb 1999]
60
New Times (L.A.)M.V. Moorhead
It's sweet, tart, brightly colored, insubstantial, and utterly lacking in nutritional value. It's also fun to consume, and harmless enough as long as it isn't your whole diet. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Gathers a partyful of young players and barely gives them enough of a story line to puff on, but it gets by on personality anyhow. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklySteven Mikulan
This film may never attain a critical mass of satiric understanding about its milieu or time, but at least its individual moments provide plenty of harmless laughter. Read full review
50
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
While the film comes to a mildly clever conclusion, it feels like a bottle of vintage champagne that never gets to pop its cork at midnight. All that fizz potential wasted. [26 Feb 1999]
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
A tepid affair, distinguished by bland character development, uninspired and insipid dialogue, and a nonexistent plot. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Nothing much happens, and that's the point, but all this wheel spinning could have used more grease. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Ray Conlogue
But there's no sign of the writerly derring-do that is really essential to daisy-chain storytelling. 200 Cigarettes burns itself out well before midnight. Read full review
50
The New YorkerDavid Denby
This disposable date movie is not so much written and acted as cast—just about every young actor in the country is in it. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A gaggle of hip actors squander their gifts in this unfunny, out-of-control comedy. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Sappy. Read full review
40
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Hit-and-mostly-miss. Read full review
40
TimeRichard Corliss
The first few minutes have promise (with an all-star list of Gen-X actors), and the last few minutes provide fun (with snapshots of lovers and losers). In between there is a void--feeble jokes, a lot of falling down and foolish declarations. Read full review
40
SalonMary Elizabeth Williams
The plots vary widely in their watchability -- from mildly amusing to stupefyingly godawful. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineSandra Contreras
Ridiculous haircuts and clothes can't compensate for the absence of real characters, which consigns much of the cast to cameo-like performances. Read full review
37
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
This vapid '80 punk party reeks of 200 Cigarettes.
30
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
As forgettable as a puff off a generic-brand butt: filtered, flavored, and ultimately unsatisfying. Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorJohn Christian Hoyle
David Chappelle's performance as a cabbie is amusing, but the film should have been packaged with a Surgeon General's Warning - "Cigarettes is bad for you." Read full review
25
San Francisco ExaminerG. Allen Johnson
Not much of a plot, but the trouble is that Shana Larsen's script, as directed by Risa Bramon Garcia, isn't very deep. Worse, none of the self-absorbed characters are that likable nor are they funny. Read full review
12
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Dreadful...Maybe another 200 cigarettes would have helped; coughing would be better than some of this dialogue. Read full review
10
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
The film is filled with actors you want to see -- just not in this thing. Read full review
10
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Dismally unfunny...It's clear from the first few minutes that the performers are fighting an uphill battle against lame material, and the situation never improves as pic labors on. Read full review
0
Washington PostDesson Thomson
A twentysomething comedy with a brain-dead script, unflattering lighting and 16 performers in search of a scriptwriter...[It] feels like one-sixth of an idea stretched to the breaking point. Read full review
0
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
More of a throwback to a period in the '70s when big-screen comedies like "FM" and "Thank God It's Friday" seemed to take all their cues from bad sitcoms, putting rice-paper-flat characters into vibrant settings and giving them nothing to do but exchange faux witty dialogue without the much-needed cues of a laugh track. Read full review
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