Not Much to Laud

Rating: 6/10 (11 February 2016)

(RATING: ☆☆½ out of 4)
THIS FILM IS MILDLY RECOMMENDED.
IN BRIEF: The comedy can be found in the Coen Brother's film, but it's sporadic mayhem at best, thanks mostly to a wonderful cast.
GRADE: B-
Journey back to the heyday of the Hollywood film studios and their bevy of stars who lit up the movie screens! The Coen Brothers' latest film, Hail Caesar, still has its stars acting aces, production values that wow, but not much to laud with a tiresome plot that barely comes together.
￼The film is an homage to the old Hollywood system, but it rarely builds to an absurd laugh-out- loud farce, rather settling on intellectualizing debates about faith and redemption during the Red Scare of the 50's. (However, I did have a non-stop grin on my face throughout the film.) The direction by Ethan and Joel Coen remains solid as they mock and worship these celebrities with their high cheekbones and chiseled physiques, ill-equipped to handle life, let alone fame and fortune. On the studio's roster are such choice characters, both behind and in front of the cameras. At the forefront is Eddie Mannix (a highly effective Josh Brolin) whose 24 / 7 job at Capital Pictures Studio is to put out the many fires ignited by the studios' acting talents (?). His clients include: DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson), an Esther Williams bombshell who wisecracks and grouses her way through every take, Hobie Doyle (a breakout performance by Alden Ehrenreich, channeling a Sal Mineo vulnerability to perfection) as an empty-headed Western star, Burt Gurney (Channing Tatum, making Gene Kelly proud) playing a song and dance man, and Baird Whitlick (an amusing George Clooney) as a rugged leading man type starring in a ripe religious epic in the style of vintage Ben Hur but without the class.
￼Adding to Mannix's problematic issues are Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes) as a temperamental film director (but then who wouldn't be with this stars), Tilda Swinton as dueling gossip columnists, Thora and Thessaly Thacker, and in an all-too-short scenes, C.C. Calhoun (a funny Frances McDormand) as a frustrated film editor and an unethical agent named Joseph Silverman (Jonah Hill). The ensemble is flawless and wondrously dopey, but they are let down by a screenplay that never aligns or engages its characters.
￼The film succeeds in mixing other genres (film noir, musical comedy, screwball comedy, Biblical spectacle) and this pastiche are the film's highlights. As long as the film remains on the studio stages, the film works. Were Hail Caesar! to focus more on these marvelous parodies, the movie would be a memorable classic bit about Old Hollywood. Instead it veers off course with subplots about Communist writers, a kidnapping plot, and religious affirmation scenes which goes on far too long without much merriment or laughs. The tone becomes stiflingly serious and labored and one wants more time spent on the wacky antics from these Hollywood types lost on the film set.
Still, there are so many standout moments to revel: Tatum's energetic six minute tongue- definitely-in-cheek dance number entitled "No Dames", Johansson's Busby Berkeley synchronized swim spoof, McDormand's all-too-short stint, Ehrenreich's singing cowboy's lack of intellectual sparring with the overtly sophisticated Fiennes, Clooney's exasperated buffoonery, etc. This ensemble creates vivid and interesting characters ready to leap to screwball heights but they are weighed down by a screenplay that misses so many golden opportunities to become a riotous comedy. The parodies are spot-on, the plot is duller than need be.
As previously stated, the film is a well-crafted look at Tinseltown, with kudos to the astute production design by Jess Gonchor, lovely period costumes by Mary Zophres, and Technicolor- inspired camera-work by the prolific Roger Deakins.
￼If the plot itself tends to meander all over the place and, too often, loses some of its light- weight footing, the small pockets of perfected glee from the Coen's inspired cast of delightful characters make the film a pleasant enough diversion. Here, it's the individual scenes of the film, the movie-within-the movie segments, which more than make up for the many missteps in this disappointing film.
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