Not without merit, but doesn't really work

Rating: 7/10 (11 March 2016)

Eddie Mannix, head of a 1950s Hollywood studio, faces multiple problems – overwork, a female star with relationship and pregnancy issues, gossip columnists, communism, oh, and his big star being kidnapped in the middle of filming a biblical epic.
The Coen brothers write and direct this satirical comedy with a great cast, and masses of care given to historical detail. And, as is often the case with the Coens, I end up with a bad case of mixed feelings. My usual problem – the feeling that they are sitting in the row behind me, sniggering at in-jokes which I don't get – isn't the main problem here. The problem is that the disparate elements which go into making up this film – satire, knockabout comedy, affectionate tribute, multiple plot threads – are fairly successful individually, but never seem to knit together into a coherent whole. That's not to say that there isn't enjoyment here – the barely concealed homoeroticism in Channing Tatum's sailor dance number is a hoot, as is George Clooney's befuddled star – but none of the threads has a lot of point individually, Mannix' personal thread is tonally at odds with the other studio-based material, the communist writers' mix of commentary and comedy doesn't really work, and so on.
More than anything else, this film made me think of being served up with a plate containing muesli, curry, French fries, and pineapple ice cream – all things I love to eat, but they don't really work together to make a satisfying meal. Hail, Caesar! Is an ambitious attempt to squidge together a number of elements which don't really work when squidged together.