It's complicated

Rating: 8/10 (16 April 2018)

The film takes place circa 1951 and centers on Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) a film producer for Capitol Films. He is faced with a number of issues which he must solve while trying to give up smoking. His main headache is Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) the star of his epic film "Hail Caesar." He has been kidnapped and ransomed by a communist cell during film production. Meanwhile he he forced to miscast cowboy star Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich) who can't act in a societal comedy/drama.
The feature spoofs the gloss and crap that came from that era as films had a monopoly on entertainment. We see a Carmen Miranda type (Veronica Osorio), Channing Tatum dancing like Gene Kelly in "Anchors Away"; Scarlett Johansson as Esther Williams in "Million Dollar Mermaid" and George Clooney plays a Richard Burton type in "The Robe." Hobie Doyle was a generic singing cowboy with a "Gabby Hayes" sidekick.
The Coen film holds some enjoyment for those familiar with the era. There were some good exchanges such as the theological debate and Jonah Hill taking about being a professional person-hood. It comically shows the Hollywood 10 black listed doing unorthodox things. The main problem with this feature is that it is a Coen Brothers film, so the bar has been set Raising Arizona high. If this was a new director/writer they would be hailed as genius.
Guide: No F-words, sex, or nudity.