4 stars out of 5
The holidays can be rough, and winter can really be a drag, but I didn’t care: There was a new Coen Bros. movie on the way, with my man Clooney in it, and the trailer looked like a friggin’ hoot.
Now it’s February, the days are getting just a little bit longer, and Hail, Caesar! is here for real. I’m happy to report, ladies and gentleman: It is indeed a hoot. I LOVED THIS MOVIE! Love it, love it, love it.
Oh, Jack, you always love Coen Bros. movies. Well yes I do, and what’s wrong with that? Nothing is wrong with that, I’ll have you know! But this one is kind of refreshing. Because for the first time since 2008’s Burn After Reading, the Brothers Coen are just having fun. It’s a big ol’ goof! Sure, there’s a “message” or two along the way (Do the responsible thing, or do what you love?; Hollywood is crooked but everything else is too; etc.), but make no mistake, this is flat-out comedy. An exquisitely shot, incredibly acted, really smartly written comedy.
The trailer employed some misdirection, leading us to believe this is the tale of movie stair Baird Whitlock (played by movie star George Clooney) getting kidnapped. That’s part of it, yes, but Hail, Caesar! is really a couple of days in the life of studio big-wig Eddie Mannix (played by movie star Josh Brolin). And it has not been a good day. Baird Whitlock’s been kidnapped (natch); the press is sniffing around as press is wont to do; a cowboy star being reimagined as a dramatic leading man is not going as smoothly as hoped; an Esther Williams-esque starlet has some personal woes that require immediate attention; and Mannix has to wonder if juggling all these headaches is worth it.
Through it all, hilarity ensues. And the actors — many Coen regulars, including Sy Ableman cutting the crusts off bread — are outstanding! Really top-notch. You totally believe Brolin as a Golden Era studio exec, hilarious without taking it over the top. Clooney goes with the flow, he’s a team player (with some funny physical bits too), stepping up when needed. Tilda Swinton has some fun as a gossip columnist (“I’m not a gossip columnist!”) as does a tough-talkin’ Scarlett Johansson. Frances McDormand only gets one scene but it’s killer and she nails it. I would say young Alden Ehrenreich is a revelation here, but I already labeled him “terrific” in 2013’s Beautiful Creatures. As sweet-eyed singing cowboy Hobie Doyle being nudged through the studio machinery, Ehrenreich is tremendous, and an extended Eliza Doolittle-esque scene with fraying-pateience director Ralph Fiennes is comedy gold.
And yet, it is a musical number starring Channing Tatum that steals this movie. My god, it’s funny.
The proceedings drag just a little in the middle — even though it includes a 10-minute sequence you could watch and then just totally skip Trumbo. But oh man, I had a huge smile on my face for practically the entire film. The Coens love the movies and that’s another big element here. They’re telling us that every now and then, movies can accomplish something grand, something almost spiritual — and just when you start to believe it, they pull back the camera to remind us it’s all artifice. But don’t worry about that too much, just enjoy yourself. Joel and Ethan are masters, still at the top of their craft. Hail, Coens!
Jack Silbert, curator