Intolerable Cruelty (Now Polling)

[ElPandaRoyal]

when was the last successful twisted romantic comedy anyway?

Hannibal, I think...

[markums2k]

when was the last successful twisted romantic comedy anyway?

Hannibal, I think...

'Successful' can be such a subjective term...  

[ElPandaRoyal]

RoyalTenenbaum wrote:
Quote:
when was the last successful twisted romantic comedy anyway?


Hannibal, I think...


'Successful' can be such a subjective term...

I was talking about $$$$ successful (although I didn't really dislike Hanniball)

[NEON MERCURY]

..fore the first time this is a film that evn though has the coen's names attached to it in some way..i have NO interest in seeing this...

[markums2k]

RoyalTenenbaum wrote:
Quote:
when was the last successful twisted romantic comedy anyway?


Hannibal, I think...


'Successful' can be such a subjective term...

I was talking about $$$$ successful (although I didn't really dislike Hanniball)

It totally wasn't a knock on you, man.  I mean, if Cruelty turns out anything like Hannibal, I won't be happy, no matter how much money it makes...

[ElPandaRoyal]

It totally wasn't a knock on you, man. I mean, if Cruelty turns out anything like Hannibal, I won't be happy, no matter how much money it makes...

Oh, I know what you mean. I thought Hannibal was a decent blockbuster kind of movie, but of course we all expect much more from the Coens than Hannibal. In fact, I ony mentioned Hannibal as a joke in the first place. And you know what, unlike NEON MERCURY there, I really think the Coens will put up an amazing film "Coen style" AND make some serious dollars. And that would be great because it would allow the to make some other films like "To The White Sea" which has been their dream project for some years, I believe.

[Pwaybloe]

Just got back from "Intolerable Cruelty..."

It was pretty good.  It's definately their most mainstream movie.  It has that oddball sense of humor the Coens are famous for, but not entirely.  Clooney and Jones make the movie worthwhile obviously, because the supporting characters suck.  

The dialogue is as always phenomenal, and ol' reliable Roger Deakins is just as good.  Great lighting shots in the beginning...

[markums2k]

I [only] mentioned Hannibal as a joke in the first place.

I figured as much.  Time to bite the bullet and actually see the movie.

So, Kill Bill, or Intolerable Cruelty?  Uma, or Clooney?  Hmmmmm... maybe both?  Don't mind if I do!

[ElPandaRoyal]

Interestingly enough, both Kill Bill and Intolerable Cruelty will be released here on October 31st. I'll be working that friday, so I think I'll catch both movies the next saturday. But if I can't, it's Kill Bill first, for the simple reason that not many people will want to go and see that, because I don't know that many film geeks. Cruelty, on the other hand, seems like a film anybody would watch, mainly because of Clooney and Zeta-Jones and beeing it a romantic comedy and all, so I can watch it when I go to the movies with my friends.

Anyway, unitl the 31st, I'll be waiting impatiently for the movies, but I know they'll be worth it.

[Gold Trumpet]

Saw it.

As expected, the plot was cliche. Not expected, was how much it followed through on the requirements of the cliche. *Spoiler* Even though the ending didn't solidify love, it did meet romantic comedy standards.  Predictable twists were abound and the overly cute and likely plausible ending to fit the genre.

For the Coen brother-esque of the film, it was mainly seen in the performances. Clooney's performances was at once, convincing of charm and yet, muddled in a bad cliche of a performance. He was playing, "Cool and charming, but only pretending to be as life is really is going down" Smiles were larger than life and his reactions brought down to TV sitcom drab. Clooney played too many casual scenes as if he was in a sitcom and some TV relevation was being brought upon him at every corner of the scene. Zeta-Jones played cliche, but got the better cliche: charming, calm and calculated. She did her duty. The chief purpose, the filmmakers really don't believe in the story and along with cliche performances, they throw in jokes of absurdity to remind.

And yet the film is so stock. As a romantic comedy (which it mainly is), its badly written. Every new twist is seen well in advance. Every manuever of character entanglement between Zeta Jones and Clooney was out of date in the 1950s. As Coen brother trickery, it glides past some obvious jokes to lampoon the genre. Lampoon the genre? The genre is so cliche that you can't find a pure romantic comedy now that doesn't make hints of self mockery. And even in attempting to lampoon the genre, the Coens are minimal in effect. Most jokes play off obvious fashion to hinder any laughs. For fans of Coen brothers, brief moments of their odd humor is on display in little tidbits here and there. With this, I think Intolerable Cruelty could have been better served in a series of comic strips in some sunday morning newspaper.

~rougerum

[anakin_e]

Anyone know what the song is played during the tv commercials for the film? I think it sounds really cool. I'm looking forward to seeing this, the coen's rarely disappoint me.

[modage]

GT, for once i agree with you.  but why, if you dont care for the coens, and are waiting for them to "grow up" or whatever, why do you continue to see their movies?  (and on opening day no less.)

[Ghostboy]

It was funny. I really liked Clooney, and also the guy who played his assistant who was hilarious. But you could kinda tell (I think) where the Coens grafted their own material to a previously written script. I don't think it will make the 100 mil a few people have predicted...it's not quite satisfying enough as a romantic comedy (this is coming from someone who adores Notting Hill, so I can tune in to the mainstream sensibilities now and then). I enjoyed it, but this is the only Coen Bros. film that I can't outright recommend.

Nice to see Bruce in there, though. And the singing priest was awesome...did anyone catch the lyrics to his second number way in the background? Something like "I wish I was a Kellogs cornflake..." Brilliant!

[markums2k]

I haven't seen it yet... but in ICs defense, Raising Arizona could be viewed as a cliched fish-out-of-water comedy, if you were hellbent on it.  It's not nearly as ground-breaking as Lebowski or... um... Lebowski, but it still has an undeniable charm.  As far as baby comedies go, Raising Arizona is absolutely the best.  Indeed, it's better than most comedies, period.  Absolutely and undeniably.

And based on GTs negative conclusions toward this film and others (ahem, 28 Days Later... but please don't start another debate), I tend to believe that I'll enjoy Cruelty very much so.

[mutinyco]

It's a good movie. I've often said that on those rare occasions when unconventional filmmakers take on essentially commercial material, they often produce great pop. (Unless they're at odds with the pop nature of the material.) They're able to infuse cliche with wit and spark. And I think that's what the Coens did here. The audience I saw it with (critics included) was laughing from beginning to end.

Imagine, for example, that Scorsese didn't direct The Color of Money or Cape Fear...imagine what another director might've done? That edge he provided gave formulaic accessible films a bit of character. Of course MS purists dismiss those films, but from a commercial point of view, they're both a step above the norm.

People have to remember, The Big Lebowski flopped at the box office. It wasn't a success at all. It was the polar opposite of what fans were expecting after Fargo. Only years afterward has it become the phenomenon it is. I don't know that Cruelty will do $100 million domestically, but worldwide it's a sure thing. It'll also do really well on video and cable. This film has legs.