Sort of a yawn.

Rating: 4/10 (14 February 2016)

Don't know what to say about this one. Coen brothers reaching kind of deep to pan the Hollywood clichés and stereotypes of yore. Only one knowledgeable of typical Gene Kelly, Esther Williams musicals, Roy Rogers/Gene Autry (can't remember which) westerns would actually "get" any of the material they're trying to poke fun at. Another cliché, the old Christian epic (Ben Hur, The Robe, etc), is made fun of but in a kind of strange offbeat manner, almost semi-serious but obviously satire. And it seems that blacklisted screen writers association with, or accused of associating with communists has become a Hollywood cliché (maybe after the release of Trumbo last year?), for the Coen boys languishingly poke fun at that too. You might actually "get in" to an actually well produced dance ensemble, but will have to check yourself - "Wait, this is a spoof. I should be laughing at this, not actually enjoying the dancing itself." It's almost like the Coen brothers are saying, "Gotcha!" As if they're mocking your reaction, not the old, Hollywood clichés themselves. Who knows? Who cares? I only spent money to get in to see the "Deadpool" which my kids roped me into taking them. I ducked out of that turkey of a spoof to see this one. I'm disappointed in myself that I ventured to see either one.