A weaker Coen Brothers comedy is still pretty darn good

Rating: 6/10 (12 August 2019)

A weaker outing for the Coen Brothers is still a pretty good time. The film is a bit of a send up of spy pictures like "Three Days of the Condor" or "Enemy of the State" (an under appreciated spy flick of the 90s). In this Coen Brother version of a spies and espionage, it's a world populated by a bunch of dumbbells (George Clooney, David Rasche, J.K. Simmons, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton), who end up circling a couple of fitness trainers (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand) who stumble upon a draft of Malkovich's autobiography and thinks they've discovered top secret material they could sell to the Russians. From there this screwball comedy gets even crazier and sillier. I don't think I busted a gut quite as hard as I did for "Raising Arizona," but this film does have that same kind of silly frenetic tone that is unique to the Coens, so if you enjoyed that film, you'll probably enjoy this one, thought likely not quite as much.