Hail, Caesar!

Starring: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, Alison Pill, Fisher Stevens, David Krumholtz, Fred Melamed, Christopher Lambert, Clancy Brown, Wayne Knight, Jack Huston, Dolph Lundgren (uncredited)
Directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Genre: Comedy
Rating: PG-13
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A Hollywood studio executive (Josh Brolin) tries to hold the studio together when its biggest star (George Clooney) is kidnapped.

Review:

Tim: I've been saying for a while now that the Coen Brothers are overrated. It bothers me that they get such adoring love from so many people when their films aren't nearly as good as critics claim. No Country For Old Men was great, but their other movies most often fall short. That's especially true when they do their comedies- their comedies are a mess, although people claim to love them. It would be hard for Hail, Caesar! to get many vocal fans. This movie is just a misfire. You assemble a remarkable cast and then give them very little to do. Most of this cast is totally wasted. This is a self-indulgent, deeply flawed film that never gets off the ground. I was very disappointed in this movie.

The cast is incredible, although so many of them don't get their due. Josh Brolin is in the lead role, and he gets off the easiest. There's the most for him to do and he does it exceptionally well. He's really strong in his role and was one of the best parts of the movie. He is why people sign on to Coen Brothers movies- because you can get meaty roles like that. George Clooney is good in a supporting role. He has a few strong moments- the Coens give him enough to do to warrant his inclusion. I enjoyed his performance. I wasn't a huge fan of Alden Ehrenreich here. I love the idea of him as an actor, but his performance wasn't great Ralph Fiennes was definitely a scene stealer, although he doesn't have enough to do. When you can get Fiennes, you want to showcase his talent. Scarlett Johansson was almost totally wasted. There wasn't a major reason for her to be in this film. Frances McDormand has a funny moment, but she's only here because the Coens. Tilda Swinton was fine, but anyone could have played her two roles. Channing Tatum had slightly more to do than I expected, but besides his dance number, he contributed very little to the overall film. Jonah Hill, I have no idea why he bothered to appear here. He's a good actor, yet is given one unimportant, unfunny scene. It was exasperating. I liked seeing Fisher Stevens, Christopher Lambert, and Clancy Brown, but they needed much more to do.

The setting of this film at a Hollywood studio felt a little pandering. People know that Hollywood loves movies about themselves, so it felt like a little bit of Oscar bait doing this. It backfired because the movie isn't very good. The self-indulgence comes in when you've got all these huge set pieces on these movie sets, the aquatic scene, the song-and-dance number- it was so glitzy and glamorous and totally unnecessary and irrelevant to the plot. The basic story gets lost in all the craziness the Coens throw on the screen. That severely detracts from the film.

Now, while I didn't like Hail, Caesar! at all, I have to give the film some credit (most movies deserve credit for something, it's rarely black and white). The set pieces of the different Hollywood films, although irrelevant and distracting, were impressive. The Coens pulled off a lot here. They deserve some credit for that. Brolin and Clooney are fun on screen. There's a couple of decent laughs. The movie looks good from a cinematography perspective. I don't know, that might be it. So, this isn't a completely terrible movie. However, the Coens are talented filmmakers, so it drives me crazy to see an average movie like this. Their comedies are usually pretty bad. Hopefully we get a strong movie next, as they shift to a drama. I really feel like this one was a waste of time.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Burn After Reading, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Are Thou?