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Hail, Caesar! Review

By Tom Fugalli

O Humor, Where Art Thou?

The Coen Brothers' love letter and ransom note to 1950s Hollywood, "Hail, Caesar!" follows a day in the life of studio "fixer" Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), who sleeplessly tends to behind-the-scenes drama with a zealot's loyalty.

Between visits to the confessional, Eddie contends with assorted scandals and disasters, most urgently the kidnapping of the studio's biggest star, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), by a group of communist writers called "The Future". The movie set from which Baird is kidnapped is also called "Hail, Caesar!", in which he plays a Roman soldier who crosses paths with "the Christ".

Other problems include the inconvenient pregnancy of starlet DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson), the woeful miscasting of cowboy Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich), and the relentless stalking by gossip columnist twins Thora and Thessaly Thacker (Tilda Swinton).

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The glimpses of various movies that Eddie has a hand in gives "Hail, Caesar!" a Mel Brooks "History of the World" quality. Cinemaphiles will enjoy the spectacle of this Western, Romance, History, and Musical tossed (Caesar?) salad.

Eddie Mannix, the character, is inspired by the real Eddie Mannix, an actual fixer who worked for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The many historical parallels and Hollywood references may or may not be appreciated, depending on your movie trivia skills.

The episodic comedy is hit-or-miss, or hit-and-miss, combining both satire and sincerity. One of the more successful scenes is of delicately articulate director Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes) trying to help the hapless Hobie with a line, advising him to say it "ruefully", followed by a "mirthless chuckle". Frances McDormand's brief appearance as a projectionist also stands out.

"Hail, Caesar!" tells the story behind the story. Its plot is a series of points, thematically connected by questions of faith, value, and meaning. A meta-critique/celebration of cinema, the Coen Brothers' latest comedy is more of a curiosity.

What did you think?

Movie title Hail, Caesar!
Release year 2016
MPAA Rating PG-13
Our rating
Summary A meta-critique/celebration of cinema, the Coen Brothers' latest is more of a curiosity than a comedy.
View all articles by Tom Fugalli
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