Disappointment

Rating: Null/10 (4 July 1999)

Well, I just saw it (on Cband satellite).I read a lot of these reviews, including ones with lots of exclamation points, ones insisting it's their "favorite film" and that "if you're smart, a film lover, or a Coen lover", then you must absolutely lov.e this.
Consequently, I feel compelled to say that I believe all those things to be correct in my case- I've been a devotee since Blood Simple, and I adored Fargo- so I've got to say that this movie absolutely sucked. Its wit was "with an anvil"- so clumsy, repetitive, and sophomoric. A few sight gags merited a slight smile. But it was so bad I stopped it after one hour. I was in a good mood- wanting to be entertained, but I felt insulted by what I perceived as a sell-out to Hollywood crotch/excrement humor and the humor of familiarity. If you hadn't recognized Turturro, would that bowling bit have been funny? even clever? Micturition, indeed. Even the the vet and the businessman were broad, 2 dimensional caricatures. Cartoons- just so the 12 year old kids would "get it". With an anvil. Shame- I respect the Coens enough to believe that they know what they did here, and I bet their respect for their viewing public has not benefited from the undeserved praise I've read here. Gene Siskel saw right through this tripe.