Review of INTOLERABLE CRUELTY

"There's a first time for everything. I could confidently say that there was not a Coen brothers film that I did not enjoy. Until now, that is. Yes, there is, sadly, a first time for everything. Intolerable Cruelty finds Joel and Ethan Coen uneasily hitched to mainstream Hollywood, and the results are, well, uneasy. It's a bit depressing to reflect upon a movie in the mindset of trying to figure out who won, as if the filmmaking process boils down to a battle between the cunning of the creative and the brawn of the financially minded. I'd like to say that the artist vanquished the mogul leaving all to ruin in his footsteps, but I would be lying. The Coens' twisted sense of ironic humor is present throughout Intolerable Cruelty, but it doesn't support anything worthwhile. In other words, the jokes serve the plot, and the plot hasn't an idea in its head. If there's one thing the brothers Coen excel at, it's taking high-minded concepts and making them digestible. Better yet: They take high-minded concepts, digest them, and then regurgitate them for us to swallow. Maybe the metaphor could stand to be more appealing, but without the ideas, the only thing coming out of their intellectual digestive tract is hot air."

Mark's Full Review

Based on the mass audience laughter quotient, this movie had one of the loudest and sustained comedic ratings this year. The dazzling silence acting between George and Catherine will brilliant as unspoken dialogue denotes excellent directing and performing ability - some the best moments are these two actors just reacting to each other. I guess that the male ego just can't handle the female power position this movie puts upon men. I enjoyed the power reversal and the great plot development that enwraps around George. This was a perfect date (if not critics outing) movie to warm up the growing chilly evenings.

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Originally posted by tabuno
Based on the mass audience laughter quotient, this movie had one of the loudest and sustained comedic ratings this year. The dazzling silence acting between George and Catherine will brilliant as unspoken dialogue denotes excellent directing and performing ability - some the best moments are these two actors just reacting to each other. I guess that the male ego just can't handle the female power position this movie puts upon men. I enjoyed the power reversal and the great plot development that enwraps around George. This was a perfect date (if not critics outing) movie to warm up the growing chilly evenings.

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Funny. My girlfriend absolutely hated it.

I might have liked the give-and-take between the leads and gender power reversal if I felt one way or another about either character, but I didn't.

Clooney is great here, though, and I laughed for minutes after Wheezy Joe's fate.

I liked George Clooney in Solaris and since I'm a late-comer to the George Clooney fan club, I'm still experiencing this Clooney phenomenon. I like Catherine Zeta-Jones for her past characters so I happen to be prejudiced even before I even went to this movie.