ClassyWas Excellent, smart action film.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

gavin6942 A Brooklyn smoke shop is the center of neighborhood activity, and the stories of its customers.The film starts out like "Clerks" with its setting in a smoke shop, then gets a bit more like "Pulp Fiction" by focusing on different overlapping characters. This is slightly enhanced because Harvey Keitel happens to be in the film. And, of course, it is a Miramax film. Whether they put their style on a film or buy up pictures with that style, I do not know, but there was a definite mid-1990s Miramax look.This is pretty satisfying overall, and a great role for William Hurt, who is a fine actor and often overlooked or forgotten. Harold Perrineau is great, too, and it is a real treat to see him before "Lost", the first time I was really aware of him (with all due respect to his parts in "King of New York" and "Romeo + Juliet").

Jackson Booth-Millard This was an independent film that appeared in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, all I knew about it was that it had some great names in the cast, and that it was recommended by critics, so I looked forward to watching it, from director Wayne Wang (Maid in Manhattan, Last Holiday). Basically the plot revolves around characters associated in some way with each other and a cigar store in New York, all these characters and subplots are woven together and drift and swirl like ethereal smoke from a cigar. Augustus 'Auggie' Wren (Harvey Keitel) is the manager of the store who has developed a "project" where he photographs the same spot outside his store at the same time every day, and nothing in his day to day life changes until past flame Ruby McNutt (Stockard Channing) comes visiting. Paul Benjamin (William Hurt) is a writer suffering from writer's block, and he is introduced to young African American drifter 'Rashid', real name Thomas Cole (Lost's Harold Perrineau) who saves his life, and he allows the young man to stay with him, while at the same time trying to find something to write about. Ruby comes to tell Auggie that she gave birth to a daughter, and that he is the father, and she wants some money, a few thousand, to help her struggling daughter Felicity (Ashley Judd) who is addicted to alcohol and drugs, and after some time he does help her. Rashid hides a package in Paul's apartment, this is money that he stole from criminal The Creeper (Malik Yoba), who does find the apartment and threaten Paul at gunpoint before being arrested, Rashid is trying to better himself, he manages to get a job in the cigar store, and he also hangs around outside the garage of mechanic Cyrus (Forest Whitaker), who lost his left arm in a car crash with his wife. Rashid, aka Thomas, will not reveal to Cyrus that he is his son, so Paul and Auggie go along with him to the garage, and the truth does come out, Cyrus is at first very angry, but the argument settles during a lunch with him and his new family. The final scene sees Auggie with Paul in a café telling him a story that he could use in a new Christmas themed book, and he tells a story of how a young man stole from his store, dropped his wallet, and some time later he tried to return it, an old lady answered and being blind assumed it was the young man, he went along with it and spent Christmas together, before leaving he took a camera from a pile in the bathroom, and when Auggie returned the next year she had died, a silent montage sees that this tale was true. Also starring Giancarlo Esposito as Tommy, José Zúñiga as Jerry and Stephen Gevedon as Dennis. The cast all do their parts very well, Keitel being cool and collected, Hurt being concerned and suppressed, Perrineau being mysterious and likable, Channing being needy and sporting an eye-patch, and Judd being feisty and nasty. There is no specific story, but the plot is all put together very well, how the characters connect together in some way is clever, the writing is witty and all the dialogue is engaging, it reminded me of something like Clerks, a near one location film where all you need is talking, it is a really interesting a most watchable drama. Very good!

gary1066 I agree with all of the reviewers who have praised the work of Harvey Keitel, William Hurt and others in this film.However, I believe special mention is deserved for the actress who plays the part of an elderly woman in the Christmas story at the end of the film. Without revealing any of the plot, the subtle yet dramatic change in her facial expression, without uttering a single word, blew me away.I hope others agree.Years after seeing this film, the haunting song, Innocent in your Dreams, still comes back to me

bala chandran I saw this movie in the Star Movies channel only in Jan 2008, a good 13 years after it was made. It is a perfect work of art - something you will never forget - and its memory will always gladden your heart. Ordinary people, ordinary lives - just like the most of us... its a piece of our life- and it will be taken at the flood along with us... William Hurt, despite his Oscar, has always been an underrated actor. And Harvey Keitel, Forrest Whitaker. Whats great about Hollywood is its wealth of actors all through the last century till date - one cannot help loving them all. I would rate SMOKE high among the 25 best Hollywood movies I have ever seen.