But I could not get into this movie at all. Occasionally, the slap stick kind of comedy made me smirk... but honestly, I really didn't enjoy this movie at all. Over an hour in, I figured that I might as well finish it since I started it, but it was messy, not the normal quirkiness of a Cohen flick and just seemed to be an excuse to have a lot of names in a film to tell a mediocre story. It had promise... but I tried... I really tried.
shareI'm with you dude.
shareSame... Had to check-out after :23 mins.
shareRight. I kept waiting to laugh, and didn't - gave up after 30 minutes. Looks like a Hollywood vanity project to me ...
shareYou people simply have no sense of humor. This movie was hilarious with many instantly classic scenes, like an "enlightened" George Clooney trying to explain dialectics to that old commie who looks like Einstein (who was a communist too, btw), or the silly bickering between the religious leaders (and the fact that they've been going to war over such trivial matters for centuries makes the scene even funnier as it's typical Coen black comedy).
shareI tried to like it too. Several times. This movie is too much work to enjoy and yes, it feels more like a 'vanity project' for Hollywood to giggle at than an attempt at legitimate satire. How many people watching this movie will understand the references to actual events depicted in the movie? Yes, ScarJo's character is a combination of Esther Williams (the swimming and I would guess the vulgar behavior) and Loretta Young, who got pregnant and because she was not married, was forced into a charade of 'adopting' her own child. I recognized all the references to old Hollywood stories (although I was shocked to find Gene Kelly was gay AND a communist!) although the communism depicted here is more like today's moderate Republicans. But I digress...I think the idea was cute, but too many stories and actors so it felt disjointed. I think the Coen brothers need a reality check - you're not as clever as you think you are.
katiewon, I completely agree! I mean I did like it but I just gave it a 5 out of 10. I kept falling asleep, but it did have a charming feel to it. But it was just too many ideas with not much resolution or climax to them.
I bet you're wondering what a place like this is doing in a girl like me-The Mummy
Ditto what the OP said. This was painful to watch. Who the hell greenlighted the script? Thing is there could have been a good film made about making movies in the heyday of old Hollywood.
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The truth of life has been revealed.
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Same here.....
very boring movie.
After finally getting to watch it I think the movie attempted to add too many things. Too many subplots that seem to add substance but were more of a distraction. This was a movie about "a day in the life" that really only works as a series f homages to "the way things were". Some individual scenes were brilliant and entertaining while others just took up space. The dance numbers were fairly brilliant and easily the best parts of the movie.
shareIt was deeper than just "a day in the life". It was a Christ story and about faith and morality. It was subtle for the most part and requires a few viewings. It was good, but far from the best of the Coen bros.
Mannix (man X "cross") is the only really honest moral character in the movie. Almost Everyone around him is a sinner, liar, thief, etc. Much of the movie centers around the moral dilemma of taking an "easier" job at a defense contractor working on the A bomb (unfulfilling, evil, destructive), or sticking with his job in Hollywood atoning for everyone's sins, working long hours, giving of himself and fixing all the problems at the studio...and you might throw in creating stories that can help mankind. Ultimately it comes down to Faith (the last word of the movie, that Clooney still can't remember after pulling off the entire soliloquy). "A Serious Man" is another Coen bros movie with a theme of faith, where it is futile to try and figure everything out and seek answers to questions that cannot be answered (see also Pi). In the end Mannix choses to stick with his faith. There's a bit more to it than that.
Note Mannix's worst sins at confession are smoking a few cigarettes and lying to his wife about it...pale in comparison to the people around him he's in charge of.
Faith is echoed as well with the Communists and their cause. Also with the twin gossip writers who's readers depend on them for "the truth". There's also the element of Hollywood and the actors being carefully constructed illusions of "stars", but in reality they are just like you and me (unwed mothers, drunks, homos, etc). Imperfect sinners, who's lies and faults are covered up and presented with illusionary figures to the masses, many of whom (at least in that era) had faith in them.
In Short, Hollywood also requires faith to believe it's real...and thus the irony.