The major difference is that a Coen Brothers movie exists in a parallel Coen universe that speaks its own language. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. Intolerable Cruelty is a rarity among contemporary Hollywood comedies in that it actually has gags: clever and funny lines crafted and honed by writers who are targeting their material at grown-ups. With that said, Joel and Ethan Coen get to be mighty messy even with their scripting, but if there is any kind of razor-sharp wit to this overly mainstream affair, it is found within the Coens' snappy, if a little busy dialogue and audaciously, if not shamelessly over-the-top comic set pieces. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer. Of course, there are indeed traits in this film that are reasonably worth remembering, as they craft a generally fun affair that even comes with a hint of artistic integrity. 5.0 out of 5 stars Intolerable Cruelty at a bargain price of £4.99. We meet him in divorce court, representing an outraged husband (Geoffrey Rush) who surprised his wife with the pool man and found that odd, since they didn't have a pool. |, September 24, 2007 Miles Massey is wealthy beyond reason, dashingly good looking, always immaculately attired, admired by colleagues, worshipped by clients, more accomplished than any person has a right to even dream and utterly bored with life. Intolerable Cruelty Review Classification: 12A Director: Joel Coen The Coen Brothers’ latest wink to cinema history is Intolerable Cruelty, a battle of the sexes-themed romantic comedy surrounding the legal trade in rich Hollywood husbands. The percentage of users who rated this 3.5 stars or higher. Regizat de Joel Coen. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. The Coen Brothers named O Brother Where Art Thou after a film title in Sullivan's Travels, but Intolerable Cruelty plays more like a Preston Sturges romantic film with quick pacing, plot twists and dialogue filled with double entendres (The Massey pre-nup cannot be penetrated). Undeniably the funniest and most romantically funny comedy of the year. |, February 9, 2006 |, September 26, 2006 A bad Coen brothers film is still a good film nonetheless. This is the Coens dabbling in the mainstream, and bending it to their will. 'Intolerable Cruelty' isn't Joel and Ethan at the top of their game and is incredibly uneven, but it's still fairly middle-of-the-road entertainment. Of course she wants his money; that goes with the territory. Intolerable Cruelty - Dragostea costă!. and the Terms and Policies, The soundtrack for the Coen Brothers' romantic comedy Intolerable Cruelty features a witty array of pop songs and excerpts from Carter Burwell's equally witty score. Just below that it reads "Ticket Confirmation#:" followed by a 10-digit number. Read full review The Coens wrote the script eight years ago on assignment, not intending to direct it, and that may explain why the result often lacks their customary bizarro facetiousness. Movie Review. A bland studio comedy with some genuinely terrific bits. Intolerable Cruelty (2003) Parents Guide Add to guide . 'Intolerable Cruelty' isn't Joel and Ethan at the top of their game and is incredibly uneven, but it's still fairly middle-of-the-road entertainment. Imagine Entertainment, Down with Love. The problem with Intolerable Cruelty is that it gets caught halfway in between being a regular studio movie and a Coen Brothers movie. Review: Let Him Go Is a Hammy Melodrama That’s Parched for Backstory. | Rating: 4/5 |, October 13, 2009 She goes on the list with Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr. CZJ is as funny as she is beautiful, definitely underrated as an actress. 2.5/5 - Fair. Coming Soon. Parents need to know that this movie has some mature material for a PG-13, including adulterous situations and some mildly kinky sexual references (nothing explicit and no nudity). Sinoposis Intolerable Cruelty: Dragostea costa este o comedie romantica avand in prim plan un barbat care castiga la curte (de justitie) Review by GarethSlade ★★★★ I seem to remember the consensus being that Intolerable Cruelty was very much a lesser entry from the Coen Brothers on release. Movies just don't get better. She has a video, taken by her detective Gus (Cedric the Entertainer) exposing Rex as a cheater, and wants to win his millions in the settlement. Forgot your password? Clooney and Zeta-Jones are both great-looking people, both smart, both able to play comedy, both able to handle the kind of dialogue fondly described in our nation's literate past as witty repartee. The Coens recruit recurring collaborators Carter Burwell and Roger Deakins, who have delivered time and again on unique and inspired score work and cinematography, and are, of course, held back from really fleshing out their artistic vision for this film, which still has highlights in which Burwell delivers on colorful, classically-charged scoring, while Deakins delivers on clean, sometimes memorably distinguished cinematography. The Best Horror Movies on Netflix Right Now. The story/script are good, the acting was good (even by Clooney), CZJ was excellent (don't know why she isn't feature in more movies), and the filmaking was good. Mostly, it's a Coen brothers movie so slick, so careful in rationing its darkly perverse and personal elements, that it seems suspiciously sweet. Some must be disappointed to find the Coens conforming to Hollywood conventions, and I'd imagine every one of those people neglected to check the gross revenues of this rom-com and the gritty period noir "The Man Who Wasn't There" and see which one made a little over $101,000,000 more. Clooney as divorce attorney Miles Massey is flawless, as is Catherine Zeta-Jones as conniving goldigger Marilyn Rexroth. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy To prove she really loves him, she says. Its almost as entertaining as the Coens' "O Brother Where Art Thou," which also stars George Clooney. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie. I promise you'll love it. Its got a wonderful supporting cast: Cedric the Entertainer, Edward Hermann, and especially Julia Duffy-perfectly cast. Fri Oct 10 2003, 11:10pm | comments off. [laughing] Oh, Mr. Massey. | Rating: A | Top Critics (54) It's not a long list. Glitz, glamour, comedy and Clooney and [
Catherine] Zeta-Jones. Film. Fall TV First Look: Find Out What’s Coming, The Best Peacock Original Shows and Movies, All Upcoming Disney Movies: New Disney Live-Action, Animation, Pixar, Marvel, and More. Review: The Dark and the Wicked Is an Impressively Sustained Freak-Out. You know that it was Coens' name that made a cast this solid come calling, but now that it's here, each member, despite being unevenly used, charms, whether it be Billy Bob Thornton as the charismatic and fast-talking southwestern man of business, or Edward Herrmann as an awkwardly anxious man who cannot afford a divorce, or Cedric the Entertainer as a delightfully smooth and proud private investigator, or Paul Adelstein as the near-adorable right-hand to George Clooney's hardened role. The balance between love and manipulation has never been funnier; it's a romantic black comedy if that makes any sense. As Miles, Clooney doesn't make any direct emotional appeal to the audience and yet his high style is so smashingly effective that Miles stands open to us: macher, lover, patsy. The humor (which pokes fun at the wealthy Beverly Hills community) is sharp and full of wit, and there are several laugh-out-loud moments, but the real comedy comes from the performances, which are zany and charismatic and reminiscent of the screwball comedies of the 30s and the 40s. Rated PG-13 She has the kind of beauty that could melt a divorce lawyer's heart and soften his brain, which is what happens in "Intolerable Cruelty," the new comedy by the Coen Brothers. Intolerable Cruelty feels like the Coens' peculiar new way of being cynical, by pretending they're not. Now, that's not to say that I like this nearly as much as "The Man Who Wasn't There", but it's hard to get bored when George Clooney is charming up the joint, while Catherine Zeta-Jones evidently shops at clothes stores whose shirts and blouses never feature necks, and Cedric the Entertainer shows up somewhere along the way. He desires her so badly that in order to get her, he would balance the Massey Pre-Nup on his own head and crack it himself, with a hammer. The film is told from Massey's point of view. Don't have an account? Great value price for £4.99 for this digital download. You're almost there! rank among the Coens' most conceptually inconsequential opuses, yet they somehow ended up also up their among the filmmakers' best, the Coens placed so much inspiration into crafting strong films through all of the fluff, which, in this case, triumphs intensely, with a frantic, improbable cheesiness that renders the final product not simply underwhelming, but barely memorable. Intolerable Cruelty (review) by MaryAnn Johanson. Edit. We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your account. |, November 8, 2019 |. Yeah, just in case "The Man Who Wasn't There" was a little too surprisingly serious for you Coen brothers fans out there, Joel and Ethan decided to go all-out with a palette cleanser and follow that with an all-out romantic-comedy, of all things. Listen, I don’t expect to be warmly embraced by the National Review, but there are certain rules of journalism that I think we all should be bound by. |, January 15, 2004 Nothing they make is ever entirely unwatchable. Copyright © Fandango. Intolerable Cruelty is a solid romantic screwball comedy and 100 enjoyable mins of light entertainment. Intolerable Cruelty is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Joel and Ethan Coen, and produced by Brian Grazer and the Coens. Add it to your video library at a great Best Buy price. Intolerable Cruelty, while tolerable, isn't very radical--or very good, either. Very good work. | Fresh (140) There plenty of fun notes to the Coens' script, and they do justice to a certain fun factor to subject matter that, no matter how improbable, formulaic and altogether near-cloyingly mainstream, has plenty of fluffy value that is kept adequately lively by highlights in the Coens' storytelling, but truly anchored by a cast that is perhaps more respectable than it ought to be for a film of its time. We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future. The Best Sci-Fi Movies on Netflix Right Now. We sympathize with this desire, because we share it. The materials are available in "Intolerable Cruelty" to create a movie with an irresistible comic payload, so why must they skew it into a warning against itself? When the suffering is finished, slow spells find themselves broken up by obnoxiously frantic points which join thin characterization, improbability and genericism in reflecting a fluffy thinness that renders the final product, underwhelming, if not forgettable, in spite of the striking scoring and cinematographic highlights, lively direction, colorful writing, and thoroughly charismatic cast - from which George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones stand out, partly with their effective chemistry - that make "Intolerable Cruelty" a generally fun hyper-mainstream, if under-inspired Coen brothers endeavor. When Massey's representation of her husband in court denies her any divorce compensation, Marylin vows to get revenge, enlisting the help of an oil baron (Billy Bob Thornton), and the two vie for the advantage in a flirtatious duel of wits. Coming Soon. Distributie George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones. Read full review. If you missed this excellent film at theaters years ago, watch it now. Cinemark Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. Just leave us a message here and we will work on getting you verified. Or, actually, he can: She wants Howard's money. Please click the link below to receive your verification email. Regal Somehow I don't think of them when I consider that ethereal quality known as talent. The percentage of Approved Tomatometer Critics who have given this movie a positive review. Well, sure enough, the Coens succeed in making some pretty fun fluff, in spite of some slow spells. Alphaville Films, December 24, 2010 I couldn’t disagree more: it has Gus Petch, Rex Rexroth, Wheezy Joe and Heinz The Baron Kraus Von Espe among its lineup of classic characters for a … He's fascinated by the brilliance with which she violates conventional morality. The camera just stands there and gawks at Catherine Zeta-Jones, and so does George Clooney, and so do we. Rarely has strife between the sexes been so ruthless, so civilized, and so funny. The film is a mess at the end of the day, but for what it is, it charms thoroughly throughout its course, thanks to lively performances on and off the screen that make a fun, if somewhat flat fluff piece. Their "Fargo" was a movie that loved its characters, and it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. Liam Lacey. Screwball comedy for older teens and adults. Hitherto, notwithstanding the odd lift from Sturges and Capra, Hammett and Homer, the Coen Brothers have always worked from their own material. She goes on the list with Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr. Just confirm how you got your ticket. Miles is moved with the profound admiration only one slickster can have for another; when Marylin actually inspires Howard to eat the uncrackable Massey Pre-Nup (with barbecue sauce), Miles realizes he is witnessing not just beauty and genius, but a will to challenge his own. There is something that he wants: Marylin. Since she really doesn't, Miles can only look on in wonderment and admiration. Intolerable Cruelty has no vibe, and if it did, it wouldn't be a shaggy one: this is a comedy based in the precision of two tactical geniuses trying to outflank the other, modeled after a breed of comedies that are noteworthy in large part for how airtight and well-designed they are. Speaking of Clooney, it is he and the stunning Catherine Zeta-Jones who really deliver, for although the leads' roles are written with their share of unlikable traits, their individual portrayers consistently endear with an effectively snaky charisma that is punctuated by some sympathetic layers, and bonded through a rocky chemistry which makes the leads' relationship something of a treat to watch as it twists and turns. In that case, why does she want the Massey Pre-Nup? "They spend an entire semester on it at Harvard Law." Intolerable Cruelty. Joel and Ethan are bounteously gifted filmmakers, but sometimes you just want them to lay off the irony and climb down here with the groundlings. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. It's not a long list. Verified Purchase. Highly recommend! Maybe Miles and Marylin need to be a little more nasty, a trifle more cutthroat in their demeanor to bring it all to life. But he meets his match when he runs into a woman (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who makes a sport out of marrying men and divorcing them, in order to cash in on large divorce settlements. Most Hollywood comedies these days are so painfully unfunny that Intolerable Cruelty comes as a breath of fresh air. The script was written by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone and Ethan and Joel Coen, with the latter writing the last draft of the screenplay. `Intolerable Cruelty' offers some hearty chuckles and some definite eye-candy in the person of Ms. Zeta-Jones, but, when all is said and done, the film is mainly just promises and not enough delivery. I was not expecting this gem; it was very funny and subtle in a way that only the Coen brothers can pull off. We, poor saps, who invested our emotions in the movie, are hung out to dry. 1 minute 17 seconds Added: May 27, 2020 View All Videos (10) Intolerable Cruelty Reviews. Though more mainstream than other Coen films, there are still funny oddball touches, and Clooney and Zeta-Jones sizzle like old-time movie stars. Miles Massey (George Clooney) is an exceptional divorce lawyer who specializes in saving cheating husbands from having to pay expensive settlements. You want tact you call a tactician. Neither one is very nice. Of course, more often than it hits slow spells, the film gets to be frantic, not so much in its pace, but in dialogue that has a tendency to take on that classic Coen snap at its most exhaustingly busy, resulting in some seriously obnoxious set pieces that isn't helped by characters who are obnoxious to begin with. Intolerable Cruelty By NR Staff. They've hit their formulaic occasions, but the Coens, more than that, have surprised, if not innovated time and again with storytelling, yet here, the only surprise is that there's hardly anything new to this lazily mainstream narrative, as if the Coens ultimately chose to give up on fleshing out this story concept as a film of greater quality. All rights reserved. The Coen brothers may be thought of as the most independent-minded of independents, but they have been known to flirt with the mainstream. I criticize the dialogue for getting frantic, but there are, in fact, some points in which structural pace is picked up a little bit, to the detriment of, if nothing else, exposition, for although there shouldn't be much depth to this particular Coen comedy, like, at all, the characters are thin, with unlikable aspects that are hard to embrace in the context of a narrative that is hard enough to embrace by its own right. The plot is utterly improbable in more than a few ways, and I reckon that's intentional, yet moments in which the Coens go well beyond the top make it more difficult to deny the cheesiness of this hopelessly mainstream dark comedy that would be worth embracing if it wasn't also derivative. They won't be able to see your review if you only submit your rating. Screwball comedy. PG-13 (Language|Brief Violence|Sexual Content), The KL Line, Intolerable Cruelty Directed by Joel Coen Rated M. 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