A cryptic crossword of a movie

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2019)

A friend came into the room about ten minutes after I'd started watching this and I had to explain it to her: so Josh Brolin is a devout Catholic Hollywood studio fixer who's got to replace the star in a movie but the only actor available is a trick-riding singing cowboy who can't act; meanwhile he has to cover up the out-of-wedlock pregnancy of a musical-swimming star, field two Tilda Swinton columnists and give up smoking. Then George Clooney, star of "Hail, Caesar!", a sort of Victor Mature sword'n'sandals epic. gets kidnapped by a communist writers' study group.
It's a good job she came in when she did because any later and this movie would be impossible to explain any more - as it is, there are several threads running though it, and the Coens throw in a few more.
It's beautifully made, entertaining, witty and funny by turns, but you do get the feeling that the brainstorm session(s) that put it together might have been a little overenthusiastic; Hail, Caesar! has a bit of everything in it and you find yourself trying to pick up the references more than feeling any suspense. As Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) soon makes friends with his kidnappers, that plot turn is completely defused. Then there's a tremendous "On The Town" type dance number, complete with outrageous double-entendres, but it outstays its welcome as its relevance to the plot (and it is relevant) isn't apparent at the time.
The Coens being slightly self-indulgent is still better than 90% of mainstream Hollywood, anyway.