"So what did we learn from this?" "Um... I don't know. "

Rating: 5/10 (22 September 2008)

There are movies that teach you absolutely nothing, no matter what anyone says. I've been taught that every movie has a theme. Not this one. Burn After Reading is an extremely quirky tale about several lives running into each other because of a lost disk containing slews of classified information. The CD results in several gym employees heading into trouble, several adulteries being unraveled, mysterious activities emerging, and Russians joining in on the mayhem. However, we still learn nothing. The Coen Brothers ease the tension and stock up on the laughs as they write and direct a very original and unpredictable story about stupidity, and the consequences that follow.
Like previously stated, classified information owned by a recently-demoted C.I.A. agent (John Malkovich) is found by a couple of gym employees (Brad Pitt, Francis McDormand). Seeing it as a chance to earn some money, the gym employees ask for cash but things become complicated when the employees threaten to take the information elsewhere if they don't get a certain kind of reward. Many other characters are dragged into the situation under different circumstances; ranging from martial connections to being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Coen Brothers have had quite a repertoire of unique movies, and this one is no different. Blending suspense with dark comedy, mystery, and sequences of gut-wrenching violence, Burn After Reading is unlike the typical movie with a coherent plot and a clear image of where the film is going. The dialogue itself is realistic, witty, but suffers from too much profanity. This sounds childish or like an overprotective mother, but if you don't need to curse, why do it? Why do f-bombs have to scatter all over the movie like bad dandruff? This was the biggest issue with The Departed; it's a great script embezzled with the urge to spew so many dirty words it leaves the film with a bad smell. There's not enough soap in this planet for movies like Burn After Reading.
The all-star cast in Burn After Reading carries this movie more than anything else, even the content material. Brad Pitt is hilarious as the klutzy Chad, and Francis McDormand also shines as the airheaded and superficial co-worker of Chad. Everyone else, from the small roles of J.K. Simmons and Tilda Swinton, to the larger roles of George Clooney and John Malkovich did a respectable job bringing the tale to life. The Coen Brothers are excellent in fleshing out good performances from their cast; as for over two decades they have been responsible for filming amazing performances.
So good cast, decent writing, interesting story, what's wrong then? Well, it's all rather boring. The story, concept is good, but the execution was rather poor. Even at 96 minutes, it feels a bit on the stretchy side as there are several scenes that weren't very necessary, and when we could have used more screen time, the flick is over. There are times in which we have minutes of footage that doesn't even progress the story forward. Last but not least, the more entertaining characters actually appear less than the more serious ones (the supporting cast pretty much). The quirky surprises and plot twists can keep your eyes open for only so long. Then there's the musical score, which doesn't quite mesh well with the entire movie.
The Big Lebowski this is not, Intolerable Cruelty was even slightly more entertaining thanks to the chemistry created by Clooney and Zeta-Jones. This movie was full of chuckles, but no major laugh-out-loud moments unlike in Lebowski. A bit of "heh,""hee-hee," but no "LOL." Yea, that previous sentence would get me fired from any newspaper but that's the best way to describe Burn After Reading: light fluffy laughter that doesn't exactly add up to a worthy comedy. Then there is the ending; which has subtle nods to the finale of No Country For Old Men. This is a hit-and-miss decision by the Coen Brothers, but it comes off as tacky, short, and underwhelming.
Bottom Line: Good cast, good story, poor execution. This is nowhere near as strong as No Country For Old Men, nor is it worthy of being a cult comedy classic like Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona. This is best suited as a small rental when there is nothing else to do on a stormy Monday evening. All of the characters here aren't very likable nor are they quote-worthy, with the lone exception of Brad Pitt's character, which even then you don't see much of. It was a "cluster****" of a movie, but one I wasn't that heavily engaged in. Being different and daring to break the movie-making rules is good, but when you defer so far from the original formula you might create a recipe that is too foreign for even your biggest fans. Burn After Reading: Eh.
P.S. Where's Steve Bescumi?