Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Rating: 7/10 (9 September 2019)

Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen. Starring Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Heather Goldenhersh, Veronica Osorio, Max Baker, Frances McDormand, Jonah Hill, Ian Blackman. (PG-13)
Eddie Mannix (Brolin) is a tireless 1950s Hollywood fixer handling problems as customary as a director (Fiennes) complaining about a matinee idol (Ehrenreich) being inappropriate for a role, and as outrageous as a communist cell kidnapping a studio star (Clooney) for ransom money. More an assemblage of "day in the life" vignettes than a purposeful plot, replete with fine facsimiles of classic Hollywood musical numbers (Busby Berkley and Gene Kelly, the both), Biblical epics, and plenty more; it doesn't add up to much, and some of the sub-plots can get lost in the tangle (Johansson's unwed pregnancy problem is expressed and resolved awfully easily), but it's still pretty fun. Highlights: Ehrenreich's singing cowboy playing in the sandbox of an elegant comedy of manners and Tatum's tap-dancing sailor. Nice period detail, though it's a shame the filmmakers didn't make the movies within the movie look more authentic (notably the film stock color and grain characteristics).
73/100