Summary
4 tech score
Channing Tatum in “Hail, Caesar!”; photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
“Hail, Caesar!” (Universal Pictures)
“Hail, Caesar!” is the latest movie from the famous or possibly infamous Coen Brothers. These two make movies that are off the wall and sometimes off the grid. Their most famous outing was “Fargo” which brought them into the world of mainstream Hollywood, a place in which they have never been comfortable. As a rule any Coen Brothers production is going to be quirky and daring, but with this one they delivered dazed and confused.
The film is a satirical look at Hollywood in the fifties. This was a time when biblical epics were the big blockbusters, and movie musicals, even those that featured swimmers, brought in big bucks at the box office. In “Hail, Caesar!” Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The film he is working on is a movie about the life and death of Christ that is predicted to be huge.
The studio chief, Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), is having his own private breakdown. Whitlock has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom, his “million dollar mermaid” (Scarlett Johansson) star is unmarried and pregnant, and a singing cowboy (Alden Ehrenreich) has been shifted to playing the lead in a Noel Coward type feature. These are a lot of headaches to cope with but what has him going crazy is the fact he is smoking and lying to his wife about it.
Most of the plot is devoted to Whitlock’s kidnapping and that is the weakest storyline in the film. It goes on and on without ever going anywhere. The pregnant mermaid stirs up some interest, especially when Jonah Hill is brought in. But it is resolved off screen and the audience never gets to enjoy it.
Also potentially interesting is a musical star named Burt Gurney (Channing Tatum). We get to see a great musical number focusing on his tap dancing skills, but little if anything is ever presented as to his back story. With this role and “The Hateful Eight” is Tatum now playing out his career in bits and pieces?
There is so much potential in this movie but none of it is realized. Ralph Fiennes is wasted; Tilda Swinton is wasted; Frances McDormand is wasted; and you can add Josh Brolin, Allison Pill and Fisher Stevens to this list. Ehrenreich is the best part of the movie and that is not because of his story but rather because he uses the sheer power of his personality to get himself noticed.
There are some clever concepts in the plot but they just aren’t utilized. One of which is the idea there was a strong communist core of movie people who interjected their politics into films. But once the point is made, nothing of an entertainment value is presented.
The film is rated PG-13 for mild profanity and adult situations.
This movie continues the curse of George Clooney. He makes flop after flop and still has a career. How is that possible! He does produce some hits, but as an actor he is a dud.
Should you go to see “Hail, Caesar!”? Oh hail no!
I scored “Hail, Caesar!” a vale 4 out of 10.
