HEFE'S REVIEW OF:
O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?

OPENING THOUGHTS

    I know a lot of people look to this movie as the Coen Brother's best work, I know a lot of people creamed their pants and or dresses when they heard the music in this movie, but I am not one of those people. This is actually one of my least favorite Coen Brother's movies, although I have to admit it is very smart, and the music admittedly gets my toe a-tappin'.

ACTING

    GEORGE CLOONEY did a pretty good job in the lead role. It was interesting to see him play a role in a setting that was so out of the ordinary of most of his roles. He had a nice southern accent and very specific hair care needs, which I guess I can respect.
    JOHN TURTURRO may have been less entertaining in this movie then in any other movie I have seen him in. It's not that he was bad, more just that he was just kind of an average character. There was nothing that stood out about him, and he didn't have a lot of memorable lines, with the one exception of: "Do not seek the treasure." Well, I remembered it anyway.
    TIM BLAKE NELSON was way too over-the-top for my taste. I could see what he was going for, but it was just too much, sort of like if you tell someone you like ketchup on your hot dog, and in an effort to impress you proceed to dump all 52 ounces of the bottle on the tiny meat stick. Suddenly you don't like the ketchup as much, but you can still see what your over anxious friend was trying to do.
    JOHN GOODMAN was great in this movie, I think he was my favorite part of this film, and I don't think anyone other then a Coen can bring out all of John Goodman's potential. See The Big Lebowski and Barton Fink for other examples of this. Also his character's name in this movie was Big Dan, and I couldn't help but think of his days when he was married to that whiny cow Roseanne on that show that shall remain nameless.

DIRECTION AND SCRIPT

    JOEL COEN and ETHAN COEN did somethin' unique like they always do, and for that I have to give them credit. The script was smart, accurate, and a new way to adapt The Odyssey. But it's major flaw was that it just didn't entertain me. Despite the fact that I can see how good the script is, I just didn't care about the characters or what was happening on screen. I have been trying to figure out why I can't like this movie more, I have been trying to force myself to make this relationship work, but all I am doing is lying to myself.

THE VERDICT

    Despite good music, good acting... for the most part, smart writing, and great direction, this movie cannot hold my interest. In my opinion there are much better Coen Brother's movies out there, with many of the same actors in them. My favorites would have to be The Big Lebowski, The Hudsucker Proxy, and The Man Who Wasn't There. These movie are just as smart, have better acting, and are much more entertaining. I hope you can love them as much as I love lamp.
 
 

RATING: C +

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