Pleasantly Vanilla

Rating: 5/10 (26 April 2016)

'Hail, Caesar!' was the first movie I saw in the theatre in 2016. Being familiar with 'The Big Lebowski' by the Coen Brothers in 1998, I was expecting something similar here (nuanced characters, satire, clever dialogue, humorous undertone). I found this film to be well put together. While there is nothing particularly memorable about it, I think the heart and care was definitely in there somewhere. I found it to be a thoughtful production with the clever dialogue I expected and humour, however there was nothing very interesting in the way of nuanced characters or challenging plot. I understood the overarching theme as a lighthearted ode to one of the "golden ages" of Hollywood, but I didn't walk out of the theatre with much memory of it. It had a mild flavor that lasts very briefly. Sort of like an avocado. Perhaps that was the purpose though.