"Mr. Klein up to nine, Mrs. Dell, Personnel, Mr. Levin, thirty-seven."
"Thirty-six."
"WALK DOWN."

Good lord! A movie so absolutely in my wheelhouse it feels like a tragedy to imagine I never saw it. Like a white, art deco Putney Swope. Jamelle perfectly described it as "Citizen Kane filtered through the Animaniacs." A wonderful, fantastical capitalist/corporate satire with a zillion quotable lines. If the Oscars properly recognized comedy, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tim Robbins would've gotten noms that year. JJL's fast-talking Rosalind Russell character is so sharp and funny and I'm astounded at how well and Tim Robbins plays a naive, upwards-failing buffoon. His physicality is perfect. Haven't laughed at anything in a while as hard as I laughed at Norville grunting his way into the Muncie song. And Paul Newman! God, what a trio. This one's a gem.

Time is a flat circle.

"And Paul Newman as Sidney J. Mussburger"

The Coen Brothers! You know... for kids!

Stimultaniously overstuffed and kind of dull, there's times when it races, and times when it kinda drags. Heavily stylized with some wonderfully wacky cinematography, this is an early attempt at the brand of comedy that the Coens would later perfect in movies like Burn After Reading, and while it is definitely not quite on the level, there's a lot to enjoy. A sort of a tribute to old school screwball Hollywood, the fast-paced dialogue and blink-and-you'll-miss-it visual gags are often brilliant, and the movie is gorgeous in its expressionist visualization of New York. It's silly and dumb, a bit clumsy and a bit too long, but it's a whole lot of fun. Far from their best, but the Coens don't make bad movies.

coen bros rank

Citizen Kane filtered through the Animaniacs with a strong Tim Burton circa Batman vibe. There are a lot of ideas about the banal inhumanity of capitalism and the absurdity of consumer culture that don't really go anywhere. That said, it is very funny and Jennifer Jason Leigh is a particular delight as the fast talking Hildy Johnson-esque reporter trying to get a scoop on Tim Robbins' Norville Barnes.

After much exertion spent claiming compensation for accidentally chopping off my remaining little finger (and that was just the paperwork for the insurance, the civil lawsuit is up next and 1-900-HOTLAWYER has assured me that with a little money upfront she can get me big damages from the butter knife manufacturer), I thought it was time to relax, knock back some oxys, and review this movie. It's a humdinger. Snappy dialog. Great performances. Intellectualish. Well done, Coen sisters!

"No, I think it more likely that you were a gazelle, with long, graceful legs, gamboling through the underbrush. Perhaps we met once, a chance encounter in a forest glade. I must have been an antelope or an ibex. What times we must have had. Foraging together for sustenance, snorfling water from a forest stream, picking the grubs and burrs from one another's coats. Or perhaps we simply touched our horns briefly and went our separate ways."

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"You know, for kids!"

Misunderstood period comedy from the Coen brothers which was panned on its release. While it's certainly not up to the standard set by the duo's other works, it's also much better than critics would have you believe. Great unity of visual composition (the shots of the Hudsucker board room and the mail room as well as the shot straight down the front of the building are all structurally identical), and Tim Robbins and Jennifer Jason Leigh are a delight.

Could have been done by Tim Burton or Dr Seuss -- Tim Robbins has a Whoville face.

Many lambasted the Coens for misrepresenting Dave Van Ronk; was there similar outrage on behalf of the inventor of the hula hoop?

There are so many ridiculous lines in this fantastic send up of corporate bullshit, but my favorite is “ya know... for kids”

This must have been the second Coen Bros. movie I ever saw, after "Raising Arizona." I think it was the same guys in the neighboring college apartment who introduced me to both, circa 1996. In fact, those same guys (they were brothers) also loaned me their MST3K tapes, which is how I got into that show. Thanks, Glen and Brandon!

tim robbins is massively underappreciated

The Coen Brothers movie marathon: #5

You take no prisoners, give no second chances.

Really? Hula hoop? Extra 1/2 star it is.

mildly amusing pastiche

Goofy as hell, and utterly enjoyable. JJL MVP.

Surrealista a más no poder. Las escenas del sótano cuando llega Norville a la empresa y la famosa carta azul no tienen desperdicio, simplemente son antológicas. Seguir seria fácil, porque la sucesión de escenas brillantes y normalmente hilarantes es constante. Reflexiones de nuevo sobre la ambición, la soledad, el tiempo y el trato mecanizado e impersonal de muchas grandes empresas. Excelentes los actores, en particular Tim Robbins y Jennifer Jason Leight, estupendos en sus exagerados y caricaturescos personajes y el accionista de las cejas gordas, que me río un montón con el. No es perfecta, principalmente por algunos momentos en los que pierde ritmo, pero gran parte del metraje alcanza las más altas de calidad a las que han llegado los Coen.

Just insane that this is considered by so many to be "a minor work".

Probably the most underrated Coen Brothers movie. But if you’ve made five films and this is the worst one to-date, you’ve done awfully well. 

It’s absolutely stuffed with film history. It’s got madcap screwball comedy dialogue, German expressionism (although it’s been an awful long time since I saw Metropolis) and Citizen Kane film techniques, and some of the most amazing sequences and montages ever (especially the diner scene and the hula hoop montage). There’s great visual humor throughout, and it’s entertaining and interesting on each watch.

But for all that, it’s a bit... overstuffed? All the amazing sequences and visual ideas don’t always congeal, and we’re left with a highly watchable, almost-but-not-quite genius film.

qual o custo?

This was really tedious to me. I didn’t find it very funny at all. I’m not sure which was more annoying, Tim Robbins’ schmuck routine or Jennifer Jason Leigh fast-talking, His Girl Friday-esque thing that she had going. By the time the movie seemed to hit its stride, I was already out of it.