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| 11/12/2003 |
| Intolerable Cruelty: Action in the Backsection |
A Movie Review
by Wes Bennett
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| Intolerable Cruelty |
| A film by |
The Coen Brothers |
| Starring |
George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones |
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The lines crackle, you can feel the sexual tension, and we're plunged headfirst into a world of quirks and subversive wit. Much like “Mystic River,” a Coen’s Brothers film (almost always) is an assured piece of work from extremely talented filmmakers.
If I had to rank all the Coen’s films, “The Big Lebowski,” in all seriousness one of the greatest films ever made, would top the list. Try finding a better screenplay. I’m trapped on a desert island with only one film, it’s this one.
After that are the films that are classics: “Raising Arizona” and “Fargo.” Next is the very solid and enjoyable film: “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Bonus points for the soundtrack that became a pop-culture phenomenon.
“Intolerable Cruelty” falls into the category of interesting and well-written films, that while critically acclaimed, didn’t really catch on with the public, including: “The Man Who Wasn't There”,
“Blood Simple” and “Barton Fink.” For whatever reason, I didn’t really care for “The Hudsucker Proxy” or “Miller's Crossing.”
“Cruelty” is the brothers' first collaborative script since 1994’s “Proxy” when Sam Raimi pitched in. This time they joined-up with the writing team of Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone who wrote the sub-par “Destiny Turns on the Radio” and “Life.”
George Clooney plays marital-law attorney Miles Massey, famed for his unbreakable prenuptial contract that bears his name. Catherine Zeta-Jones is Marylin Rexroth, a gold-digger whose business is marrying wealthy men, then destroying them in divorce court in the least amount of time possible.
When her husband, Rex Rexroth, is caught banging a blonde in a cheap motel, Marylin's plans to take half of his money and possessions. Everything falls apart when Rex's lawyer, Miles, digs up a surprise witness whose testimony ruins everything.
Miles is moved with the profound admiration only one hustler can have for another when Marylin inspires her oil tycoon husband Howard to eat the Massey Pre-Nup by soaking it in barbecue sauce. Miles realizes he is witnessing not only beauty and genius, but a mind to challenge his own.
As Marylin plots revenge, and Miles makes himself an easy target by falling in love with Marylin who's as ruthless in the bedroom as he is in court.
Clooney, great in “Ocean’s Eleven,” combines the smoothness of Danny Ocean with the fast talking goofiness of his Ulysses Everett McGill character from “O Brother.” He plays Miles with amble amounts of self-deflating charm by unleashing a nonstop barrage of fake grins, hammy double-takes and spastic eyebrow movements. As always, I admire his smooth, D.J. voice that most men can only achieve early in the morning.
Zeta-Jones fresh off her smoldering performance in “Chicago” is summed up by a line spoken by Clooney, ”an athlete at the peak of her powers.” She is great-looking, smart and able to handle the fast-paced witty repartee.
Irwin Keyes, as a hit man called Wheezy Joe, has a brilliant comedic moment with a handgun and an asthma inhaler that might be the highlight of the film. The joke took wit, creativity and intelligence to set up. It’s refreshing to see this kind of comedy after the dimwitted “Elf.”
This is one of the best romantic comedies I’ve ever seen because it didn’t seem like one. I don’t consider films like “Cruelty”, or “Jerry Maguire” to be in the same genre. They’re not written specifically for women, there’s some creativity and a strong male lead (no, Richard Gere doesn’t count). An apt analogy would be claiming that Guns N Roses is not a hair-band because of their lasting musical legacy and the negative connotations of a hair-band. (Is there a better karaoke song than “Sweet Child of Mine?” I don’t think so.)
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| "We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it." |
- Jack Nicholson
A Few Good Men
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Distributed Beers
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| 5 |
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot |
| 4 |
Guinness Draught |
| 3 |
Newcastle Brown Ale |
| 2 |
Bass Pale Ale |
| 1 |
Samuel Adams Boston Lager |
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