Leaden Unlikeable comedy

Rating: 2/10 (25 April 2011)

To be honest I only made it to the end of this out of a sense of duty, being an admirer of the Coens, but a more tedious and unfunny comedy comedy would be hard to imagine. The major problem is the sheer unlikeability of the characters, narcissistic, cynical and devious. After 15 minutes I was ready to quit, but the appearance of the reliably quirky Frances Mcdormand, managed to sustain my interest a little longer.
Another major problem is the lack of funny situations. A guy having his head shot off in the closet is not funny. Neither is another one being hacked to death. Nor is having Malkovitch and Clooney engage in such displays of wit as "f**k you you f**ker!" What ever happened to the Coens's ability to write evocative and witty dialogue? The only mildly amusing scene was the unveiling of the mechanised dildo machine in Clooney's basement, but that had absolutely no relation to the rest of the film.
Incidentally, it is revealing that the only people who end stickily are a couple of ordinary and inoffensive guys who work at the gym, and not any of the selfish wealthy narcissists. I'm guessing this is a little window into how Hollywood views the common man nowadays.
The dreadful ending seems to have been conceived in the wake of No Country For Old Men. In that the ending worked, but comedy is a different business and the Coens have conceived enough good ones to know that.
This is perhaps the first film of the Coens where I sense they might be succumbing to their own hype.