Way Out West

Rating: 10/10 (29 May 2008)

Its hard to exaggerate just how great this movie really is. Funnily enough, when I first watched it, I didn't rate it as highly as the other Coen titles I'd seen. On the second or third viewing, it suddenly gelled (the beer probably helped) and now it is totally in my all-time top three greatest ever.
Its all in the script of course, and the performances, and the art direction, and the surreal sequences, and the music... well, you get the idea. Every aspect of this movie is just perfect. It cannot be improved on in any way, and therein lies its genius.
Central to its immortality are the two leads - Goodman and Bridges - who are note perfect in every single scene. Speaking of scenes, there are too many great ones to count, but the last time I watched, the funeral parlor became my newest favorite. "It is our most modestly priced receptacle..."
The greatest thing about this movie is that you just have to think of a line of dialog and it just cracks you up immediately. More than once I have laughed out loud in public like a complete zany when some random line from the film drifted through my subconscious.
"You see what happens Larry..?" "You want a toe? I can get you a toe..." "Nobody f*cks with the Jesus..!" "Its a natural, zesty enterprise..." "They're gonna kill that poor woman..." "Careful man, there's a beverage here..!"
Quite simply - genius.