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Couple of looksees at the Coen's INTOLERABLE CRUELTY!
Hey folks, Harry here with a couple of reviews that... well, they ain't necessarily bad reviews, but they ain't necessarily raving either. Seems that the film has people scratching their heads a bit... Hmmm, My faith are in the Brothers... They always deliver...
I saw a press screening of "Intolerable Cruelty" in
New York today.
Strange movie. They were giving out passes to a lot of
film students, presumably because they figured, "Hey,
film students like Coen Brothers movies."
But--and this isn't neccesarily a bad thing, but
definitely a potentially disappointing thing--it
didn't feel like a Coen Brothers movie. More like a
standard romantic comedy into which the Coen
sensibility is airlifted on occasion. (The senior
partner at George Clooney's law firm comes to mind, as
does an animated credits sequence, the introduction of
a European Baron and a minor character called Wheezy
Joe.)
George Clooney's character, Miles Massey, is engaging
and entertaining throughout. Catherine Zeta-Jones is
beautiful but boring. Much effort is put into making
her look her best--it's clear the camera loves
her--but her performance never rises above wooden.
Why, exactly, is Geoffrey Rush in this movie? I have a
feeling there was more to him but it got cut. His
presence is almost entirely limited to a long opening
sequence that doesn't really connect to anything.
Billy Bob Thorton steals the show during his limited
presence and Cedric the Entertainer is quite amusing.
Some beautiful shots, and the music is good, even
catchy.
All in all there are a few chuckles and one truly
laugh-out-loud moment after a very funny... equipment
mixup. (I dare not spoil.) If this is the Coen's
attempt to go mainstream, and make a more standard
movie than "a Coen Brothers movie", it's not a bad
effort, but it may not sit well with the type of fan
who can quote "The Big Lebowski" chapter-and-verse.
I give it a B-minus.
--ShepardThen here comes SR Hadden from Mir... he's a particular sorta fella... always messing with Clarice.
“Intolerable Cruelty”
I was able to catch a press screening of “Intolerable Cruelty,” the new Coen Bros. Film at the Universal Screening Room on 5th Ave. in New York this afternoon. It was certainly a surprise, and since I was anticipating the Coens leap into traditional Hollywood-style romcom, and leapt at the opportunity.
Now, we were warned that this was a work print, and that the score and pacing might not be final, but the fact of the matter is, it doesn’t matter. This may be the weakest Coen Bros. film in over a decade.
This is not to say that this is a terrible film, or even an average one – in fact, it far surpasses your typical studio romantic formula. The dialogue is undeniably clever, and the twists imaginative, but something…just wasn’t right. Then it hit me – this shouldn’t have been a Coen bros. film.
And while Joel directed it, Ethan produced it, and they both wrote it, there are also some other names thrown into the mix. There’s Brian Grazer (there’s no denying he’s a reliable producer), and two writers – Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone (both of whom, and not the Coens, receive “story” credit). Frankly, I would have been interested to see their original draft directed by, say, Peter Chelsom (?), just to see if maybe, it might have worked better. Because the uniqueness and brilliance that is Coen actually manages to feel awkward and forced in this film.
spoilers throughout
George Clooney (who does an absolutely fantastic job) plays Miles Massey, divorce attorney extraordinaire. Miles can solve anything. In the opening scene of the film, Geoffrey Rush (why is he in this??) plays a TV producer who returns home to find his wife in bed with a pool man. The scene turns violent, Rush’s character pulls a gun, and the marriage, within a few moments, falls apart. The next time we see Rush’s character, he’s a bum, living on the street. Hence the magic of Miles Massey.
Catherine Zeta-Jones plays his foil – Marilyn Rexroth, a blossoming career divorcee, she is alerted by a private eye (Cedric the Entertainer), that her husband (Edward Herrmann) is cheating on her. They immediately split, and Clooney is placed in Herrmann’s corner. It doesn’t take long for him to dig up her motives, and as a result, she loses the case. Massey is clearly fascinated and attracted to Marilyn, and perhaps she to him. But before their relationship can develop, she shows up with Howard Doyle (Billy Bob Thornton, in a momentarily cute cameo), and has Massey draw up one of his legendary prenups – ensuring, this time, that she couldn’t possibly be in it for the money.
But this isn’t possible of course – we know, and Massey knows she’s up to something, and frankly, given the connection she makes with the now-bum Geoffrey Rush, it shouldn’t be too difficult to see where the next half hour progresses. While the film manages a few interesting moments in its last act, for the most part, the film, from the moment I describe on, is very much on autopilot.
Except of course, for the aforementioned Coenisms. Now, what I have described above is a reasonably typical romantic comedy, that could star, say, George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Or Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. Or Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock. It doesn’t matter – these characters aren’t that interesting, and Clooney alone breathes some life into his. But imagine this comedy interspersed with some truly oddball moments. Standing out are scenes with Massey’s elderly law partner. Think Hudsucker. Then there’s never-mentioned-again Klaus the Baron von Espy (from the trailer). Think Lebowski. Then there’s the wheezy hitman. Think…Fargo? Whatever the connections may be, these moments simply don’t fit. Where in a normal Coen experience, one can let these moments wash over and create a truly unique tone to a film, here, they’re awkward. They feel out of place, like, well, Cedric the Entertainer in a Coen bros. movie. But he does fit in this movie. This is studio entertainment with a dose of brilliance thrown in, and you know what? Worlds collide, and it’s not pretty. Maybe these guys just can’t do mainstream. The Coens took what would have been an extremely run-of-the-mill romcom, and redid moments in their own particular…idiom. But in the end, they should have gone further, or not gone at all.
But that said, there are quite a few bright points. The writing is lightning quick, and very smart. The cinematography by Deakins is, as usual, amazing. Clooney’s performance is really surprisingly good – his timing is perfect, his face uncharacteristically unfrozen and full of expression. Many of the side characters (Edward Herrmann and Cedric the Entertainer have some great scenes) work, with the exception of “Wrigley” played by Paul Adelstein, who I think falls flat. If you look carefully, Bruce Campbell makes an appearance (always a pleasure to have him around). Zeta-Jones isn’t a liability, but she fails to bring her character to life for me – though with Deakins’ cinematography, she looks absolutely amazing.
So, in the end, this ends up as somewhat of a sterile hybrid. It’s too weird to work as a mainstream romcom, but too mainstream to work as a Coen film. With some tightening in the editing room, I can imagine this working a bit better, but right now, at 98 minutes, it can’t spare much length. As much as I hate to say it, there are some great scenes in this film which simply don’t fit. But who knows, it may act as transitional material for a larger audience, and “A Coen Bros. Film” may mean more to a casual filmgoer.
One can only hope.
SR Hadden, calling from Mir
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+ Expand All
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Sep 10, 2003 6:35:41 PM CDT
THEIS MOVIE WILL ROCK THE BROTHER'S HAVE NEVER LET US DOWN AND N
by youdon'tknowshit
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get over yourself. everybody is capable of a fuck-up, even the coen bros. clooney does look great in this though.
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We have two well written, intelligent reviews by people who have SEEN the film, and one stupid rant by some guy who says 'THIS MOVIE WILL KICK ASS! YOU SUCK!' (slight paraphrasing, can't be arsed checking what the fella said word for word). Who are we going to listen to?
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my money's on the "YOU SUCK" guy.
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at the very least this should be fun. I have a feeling IC seems like you can't file it under one particular catagory, hence; its above average and we should simply see for ourselves. thats the best way to take in a coen flick. BTW, fuckin dog's got fuckin papers.
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I saw Jersey Girl, which is another movie which would be better w/out knowing what the helmer(s) is capable of. However, unlike Kevin, the Coen Bros. have an easy way out of a mainstream prison: JESUS: BEHIND THE BOWLING BALL. The dude and Jesus are the best two characters the Coen bros. ever created, and since the dude already got his own movie, it is Jesus's turn to rule. And to all of the studio execs afraid to spend money on a movie focused on a child-molesting hispanic bowler in tight purple pants and a hairnet, all I have to say is this: NOBODY FUCKS WIT DA JESUS!!
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Now that, fella, is the best idea I've heard all day!
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Sep 10, 2003 7:45:08 PM CDT
Funniest. Article. Ever. Look what Harry says about himself i
by fluffyunbound
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/10/1062902100405.html
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How did you even find time to post here -- aren't you busy trying to hunt down Harry's reviews from every newspaper in the world? I know I am!
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Deesn't matter to me how good this movie is, I'll probably go see it at least twice just because the Coens are gods.
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Scary to think the Coen's have taken on a mainstream film. What's next? Sam Raimi directing a blockbuster?!? Wait a minute...
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Fuck first posters, fuck them up their stupid asses...
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Sep 10, 2003 9:42:16 PM CDT
So in other words, this really IS what the bland-ass trailer sho
by pumpymcass
I was hoping that the trailer was misleading, that it was just trying to rope in a wider audience than Coen fans. But from these reviews, it really ISN'T misleading. It is just as bland as it looks. Damn. This sucks. Don't get me wrong: I will still be in the theater. I'll just be sure to see Kill Bill first.
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Sep 10, 2003 9:50:58 PM CDT
MToast, I can't claim to be the sleuth who tracked this down.
by fluffyunbound
The article was posted at TORN because it mentions TORN. I read it, and the line from Harry about how he keeps it real and refuses to let himself be influenced by the studios who are continually after him made me laugh until I wet myself. Harry is the BEST, naturally, but he isn't exactly a professor of ethics at BU's school of journalism.
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Sep 10, 2003 10:57:08 PM CDT
To date, only Barton Fink has been slightly below-par for the Co
by osmosis jones
Come on, just seeing Cathy Zeta-Jones lit by Roger Deakins is enough to make this a must-see. A new Coen movie the same day as a new Tarantino movie? The movie Gods like us...
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Okay, here's the problem... After amazing films like "Blood Simple" and "Raising Arizona" and, yes, "Barton Fink".... I am ALWAYS disappointed when I see a new Coen brothers movie, because I always expect WAY too much. It's not until I see the film for a second or third time that I realize just how amazing it is. This has been true for me since "The Hudsucker Proxy"... That's why they will NEVER be accepted by the masses or become bankable mainstream filmmakers, because their films don't work on a superficial, love it the moment you see it, type of level. They demand more of an interaction with the viewers, and most audiences today can't handle that. They wanna be spoonfed and coddled to the point of atrophy as they breathlessly await the next Adam Sandler vehicle.
The Coen brothers are masters, and I only wish they would start tackling heavier, deeper subjects rather than waste their talent on romantic comedies.
But that's just my two cents worth... -
Raising Arizona is a very close second because it NEVER fails to make me laugh. My least favorite(and I know a lot of people consider it a masterpiece) is Miller's Crossing. For me there was just too little of their humor and language in that movie. The Man Who Wasn't There was similar but good, it was definitively one of their movies where Miller's Crossing just didn't have that going for it quite as much. When I started seeing ads for Intolerable Cruelty on TV, I had completely forgotten that it was a Coen film, when I saw the commercials I'd say to myself, "Wow, what a depressingly cynical movie that looks like!" Now, if it were completely 100% Coen, I would have changed my mind on that, realizing there would have been something to read between the lines. With others contributing though, I'm sure it's going to be one of those ones I won't be in a hurry to catch, if not wait until the video release.
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enough of the blind faith, the invocation of the track record and the 'oh come on, it's the Coen brothers'--this looks bland and innocuous at best, and terrible at worst. what has happened to the coen bros? from BLOOD SIMPLE to FARGO they were making incredibly deep and wonderful films; however, while still magnificent by any standard, by their own personal standards, the Coens, post-FARGO output--and I love LEBOWSKI, O BROTHER, and MAN WHO WASN'T THERE--has been dissapointing. INTOLERABLE CRUELTY seems to be another step away from their great sensibility, and heir tackling of a remake starring Tom Hanks of THE LADYKILLERS is even more ominous. Seems like Liz Phair syndrome. Also, gotta say, just cuz a filmmaker has done great stuff in the past does NOT mean that their current work is aat the same level, let alone any good at all. You can't cruise on good faith alone. Ask Woody Allen about that
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I could not disagree more. Miller's Crossing is one of my favourite films, *especially* because of their use of the language. I find it to be one of their more quotable movies (along with big Lebowski). I don't wanna be an asshole about it, I just don't get it, and I don't agree.
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This was always gonna be a disapointment (not at the box office, it will clean up there, especially as its released to weak opposition). But the coens doing a straigt up Rom - com??? Its like David Lynch doing the WILLY WONKA remake. Yeah, it would be neet with plenty of trademark Lynch but ultimately it wouldnt feel like a lynch film. It would be compressed and would ultimately suffer. This is a deafinate warning to the coen brothers. Dont be influenced by the mighty dollar and read the enevitabley disapointing reviews for the film. AND PLEASE, EVERYONE, NEVER EVER CAST THE DYKE CZJ AGAIN! P.S Fargo was there best film, no doubt.
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Sep 11, 2003 10:25:51 AM CDT
It isn't really a Coen Brothers movie until someone gets kidnapp
by rev_skarekroe
That's what I always say. sk
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Sep 11, 2003 11:32:33 PM CDT
Catherine Zeta-Jones is an actual succubus - a life-sucking, sou
by brashhulk
The She-Demon preys upon the weakness that is Man's Ego, waiting patiently and biding her time to sink her teeth and claws into the next idiot manling who will allow themselves to fall under her bewitchery. The ice-wench makes us shudder when we hear her venomous tongue rasping in her dulcet accent, enticing the testosterone within. Ugh - what a total rag.
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