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Intolerable Cruelty (Full Screen Edition)Rating:
Release Date: 10 February, 2004 Retail Price: $12.98 OUR Price: $11.99 You SAVE: $0.99! Cast: Complete Cast (14 total) |
Intolerable Cruelty (Full Screen Edition) Reviews
Curiously uninvolving
INTOLERABLE CRUELTY is oddly tepid fare from the Joel and Ethan Coen, the siblings responsible so many hilariously quirky comedies (FARGO; O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?; THE BIG LEBOWSKI; RAISING ARIZONA). All the elements for a good, cynical screwball comedy seem to be in place here, so it's difficult to tell exactly where things went wrong.
Miles Massey (George Clooney) is a successful and ruthless divorce attorney who meets his match in the beautiful and equally ruthless divorcee Marilyn Rexroth (Catherine Zeta-Jones), accumulator of wealthy spouses. When romantic sparks fly between them, both find their feelings of venerability more than a little unsettling; love may be in the air, but so is the strong stench of distrust.
One of the biggest problems with the film is that sparks DON'T fly between Clooney and Zeta-Jones. Both have strong personalities and both possess a keen sense of comic timing, so why the serious disconnect? Perhaps it's the structure of the script: There's one con game too many perpetrated, and since we can't take anything on face value, their resultant romance never seems credible. A parade of comic eccentrics-including a chatterbox millionaire (Billy Bob Thornton), a cuckolded husband (Geoffrey Rush), a low-rent divorce attorney (Cedric the Entertainer), and Jones' philandering ex (Edward Herrmann)-march through the plot at various intervals. Most of these supporting turns come across as desperate attempts to enliven the proceedings; although all of the actors are adept farceurs, they're handed material unworthy of their abilities. Only during its final act, with the introduction of an asthmatic hit man (Irwin Keyes), does the film achieve the goofy gusto prevalent in the Coens' other work.
INTOLERABLE CRUELTY always seems to be within pouncing distance of great farce, yet it never really connects. The results are not intolerable, just curiously uninvolving.
Clooney is good
This is not really such a hot movie at all, but not all that bad, and much more funny in ways I didn't expect. Clooney is funny and the movie has quirky funny little moments, but overall I suppose it's still a silly and cheesy movie with a really corny ending but at least it wasn't too expected. Once I thought I had it, it kept going and wasn't what I expected, but then again, I am not so smart. I wouldn't totally not recommend it and if you have some free time you should watch it or/and you are a big fan of Clooney or maybe even Zeta-Jones. I am guessing that Micheal Douglas watched it and millions of young girls who like young Mr. Clooney watched it, maybe even some as young as H.S. freshwomen.
Note: only if you really do have free time. If there are important chores to do, or there are friends you really should catch up with or you are really really hungry you prehaps would be best served doing something else.
Hope you like my review and hope you vote for it!
SK
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