Not much here but at least George smiles.

Rating: 5/10 (31 March 2014)

The Monuments Men - Directed by George Clooney. Starring Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville and George Clooneys smile.
If you're a fan of George Clooneys trademark grin then this is the film for you. Good old George, his crooked smile has papered over the cracks of more screenplays than anyone in Hollywood history but on this occasion its just not enough.
"The Nazis are stealing precious art works Mr President!" announces George.
"What can we do about?" replies FDR.
"Put a team of character actors together to save them Mr President" says George.
"Then get it done dammit! demands FDR.
George smiles.
So the team is thrown together in 60 seconds and we're in Europe to find stolen art pieces. We know little of the individuals, how they met, their motivations or their families although we find out one isn't happy being a private.....so George smiles.
From this point on the team members divide into pairs as they weave their way around France and southern Germany. Shots are fired, art is found, Nazis are bad, friends are lost and George smiles.
I got the impression I should have read the book before seeing the film....and perhaps Director Clooney shouldn't have. Clearly the real Monuments Men had a series of adventures throughout Europe while they tracked down stolen artworks and Director Clooney was determined to show us. Unfortunately he just didn't feel the need to string the events together with much of a plot making The Monuments Men feel like more of a skit show. But at least George smiles??? The co-stars weren't asked to do a lot or in the case of Bill Murray, anything. A comic genius of his quality and his role amounted to standing quietly and staring at the camera. If this was meant to be an accurate depiction of the real person then they could have just cast Harrison Ford and encouraged him to be himself. John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville and Matt Damon were competent but Director Clooney didn't ask them to do very much while George just smiled.
The shining light for the whole piece was Cate Blanchett as a French curator. She was highly convincing and played her part beautifully. Her dislike for the Nazis became contempt for the Americans. It took Damon a while to convince her of their motives and once he got her onside we learned more about her than any other character in the film. Interestingly this was achieved without George sharing the screen with Cate.... so it seems to me Director Clooney is better behind the camera when George isn't in front of it.....smiling.