Coen Brothers Lite

Rating: 8/10 (4 August 2014)

The Coen Brothers take Their Comedy Seriously. From the Opening Shot Making Fun of the CIA, a Shot that is Shot from a Satellite Diving from a Shot of the Earth Until it goes right through the roof of Langley to Spy on the Spies, this is one Funny Film.
It Never for One Minute gets Serious and that's the Serious Way the Coens Make a Movie Comedy. Everyone of the A-List Cast seems to be having a Hoot with all of this Screwball "Seriousness".
Brad Pitt's Comedic Turn is Surprisingly Good, Frances McDormand is Once Again a Joy, George Clooney is, One More Time, Playing a Spoof of His Leading Man Looks, and John Malkovich and Tilda Swinton are One Unhappily Married Cold-Hearted Couple. The Supporting Players are Also Excellent and Along for this Ride, Ridiculing Everything from Government Surveillance to Adultery, to America's Obsession with Looks.
The Film doesn't have the Weight of Their Best Work because this is Coen Brothers Lite. But even when They Hardly Try it turns out Better than Most Filmmakers on Their Best Day. This is Slapstick for the Eggheads although it can be Enjoyed, but Probably won't be, by Mainstream Audiences who Expect Everything to Make a Whole Lot of Simple Sense.
This is a Movie about Simpletons but that Probably won't do for the Majority. The Coen's Only Make Mainstream Hits by Accident it Seems. The Humor in this Film, along with the Clever Dialog, is that this Movie is One Accident After Another and Almost Everyone will take the Most Lethal of Pratfalls.