“Tell them, “Thanks, but no thanks.” That short enough for you? ” – Eddie
Number of Times Seen – 1 (7 Apr 2016)
Brief Synopsis – A movie studio “fixer” in the early 1950’s is extremely busy at hos job trying to help the “talented” actors all get away with their personal scandals.
My Take on it – We have all known that the Coen Brothers have a soft spot for Dark comedy and what better to to spoof than Hollywood itself.
Unfortunately, this film doesn’t work as well as some of their other dark comedies and falls a bit short.
They do a great job showing Hollywood of the 50’s and how the bored “talent” sought out scandalous activities to make their lives feel more interesting and daring.
The casting here (as with most Coen Brother Productions) is superb, but since the material is a bit lacking and somewhat boring, even the likes of George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Ralph Feinnes and Tilda Swinton can’t help.
They do get the 1950’s Hollywood atmosphere right, but there are numerous other movies that do a much better job at entertaining us during that time period.
I’m usually a bit fan of their work, but I found this one to just not be as good as some of their previous movies which is quite a shame. 😦
Bottom Line – Not the best of the Coen Brother’s dark comedies, but it does a great job of depicted the banality of Hollywood when it comes to scandals. Excellent cast helps make this fun, but overall the story just isn’t interesting enough. They get the period right, but there are much better movies depicting this time and era that are more compelling.
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Dolph Lundgren has an uncredited (initially much longer and almost entirely deleted) cameo as the submarine captain. Lundgren said that he was very honored to play the part, having never expected to be asked for a film directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. (From IMDB)
Rating – BAFTA Worthy
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Great production, but that alone doesn’t make a movie, right? Great take Rob.
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Tnx mmj! Glad to know im not alone here 😉
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You were kind to this one. I couldn’t finish it for all the reasons you noted. Just goes to show you the Cohen Bros. and a superb cast doesn’t automatically equal great. Nice review!
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I think I enjoyed this more than you did, but it still wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping. ‘Would that it were so simple’ will forever make me laugh though!
– Allie
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Nice review. It’s fun and light, if a tad disappointing because of what we know the Coens can do.
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Nice review Rob 🙂 I’ve heard this is so-so.
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