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Intolerable Cruelty (Widescreen Edition) Customer Reviews (70 - 72 of 74 Reviews)

Still clever, but so uneven, the sparks never quite fly
"Intolerable Cruelty" might be the first Coen Brothers film uncomfortable its own skin. Oh, it has the usual collection of inspired sequences mixed with an equal portion of needless ones - which could be said any Joel and Ethan C film not named "Fargo." What's surprising is how many styles the film tries - straight romance, black comedy, full-blown madcap - without finding one that suits it. George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones both look great, and they certainly look like they'd be great together in something. But not this movie.

Clooney is Miles Massey, an iceman divorce attorney that turns sure losers inside out by - well let's say his skill is more or less assumed and undefined. Zeta-Jones, with a movie star look that makes most Hollywood glamour girls look like coquettes, is gold digger Marilyn Rexroth, whose second husband (Edward Herrmann) is caught in a hotel room (literally) doing the choo-choo dance with his mistress by video camera-toting PI (Cedric The Entertainer, drilling his one funny note into the Earth).

It's a worthy case for Miles, who's grown tired of making deals. Then he sees Marilyn slink into the negotiating room, and, in the one thing we can believe about "Intolerable Cruelty," falls hard for her. Miles and Marilyn will duel once, then twice, then a third and a fourth time in a movie that quietly aspires to the cruel, violent theatrics of "The War of the Roses" without taking the same mean risks. Unlike that wicked Danny DeVito film, which freely peddled to its audience a lusty hatred for the characters, the Coens feel the need to straddle us. The remainder of the film is filled with their quirky bit characters (the hitman and the "senior partner" are pretty hilarious) and what passes for chemistry between the leads.

Zeta-Jones is luminous. But her bored, distracted performance is nearly an insult for a plot that requires a certain amount of pep - her level, composed gaze is fetching for about half the movie, but then we'd like her to have a pulse. Clooney plays the ham as if to do the work for both of them, gawking and mugging and flopping around like a fool. Coupled with performances in "Solaris" and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," Clooney almost seems to trying to work against his movie star looks and delivery. The bright spot is Billy Bob Thornton in a cameo as one of Marilyn's husbands, a petroleum heir that used to play a little tight end at Texas A&M. His presence is short-lived.

The Coens usually deliver a dash of visual flair; that's missing in "Intolerable Cruelty," unless Zeta-Jones counts as scenery. So is their nose for consistent, flashy verbal gymnastics, as at least three long bits - an opening sequence with Geoffrey Rush as a TV producer, a ridiculous "Who's On First?" riff in the courtroom, and a speech delivered by Miles at a Las Vegas seminar - whiff entirely. And Clooney nerdy sidekick, played by Paul Adelstein, could be the most poorly conceived character the brothers have ever created.

Much was made of the Coens' partnership with producer Brian Grazer on this film in an effort, like Woody Allen with Dreamworks, to make a "commercial" - read: moneymaking - picture. Outside of "O Brother, Where Art Thou," which had a cultlike following because of its bluegrass soundtrack, none of the Coen films - not even "Fargo," now widely considered one of the best films ever made, - hit the bank in their first runs. "Intolerable Cruelty" is no more mainstream, really - in some ways, it's the antithesis of what audiences crave - it just has a better marketing campaign. If the final gross helps finance another great Coen film, so be it; otherwise, it's a shiny suit the brothers didn't need.

a pleasant surprise
A film by the Coen Brothers

Miles Massey (George Clooney) is a divorce lawyer. He specializes in getting his client everything that he (or she) wants no matter how much in the wrong the client actually is. He is brilliant and is also the author of the Massey Prenup, which is an iron-clad pre-nuptial agreement that has never been penetrated. From the beginning of the movie, we get to see Miles Massey work, getting off both men and women who have cheated on their spouses. Massey can work the court room and find loopholes and is incredibly successful. He is so successful that he is able to get off a man, Rex Rexroth, after he is caught on videotape cheating on his wife Marilyn (Catherine Zeta-Jones).

This completely destroys Marilyn's way of life as she was in the marriage for the money and was trying to divorce him for the money that she would get. During the divorce proceedings, Miles finds himself infatuated with Marilyn. So much so that he takes risks to meet her and talk to her and hopefully to woo her. Things don't go very smoothly (as far as Miles' dream relationship goes) and the more Miles tries to win Marilyn, the less likely it seems possible as she quickly finds a rich Texan named Howard Doyle (Billy Bob Thornton) to marry.

This is not your typical Coen Brothers movie. This is the most commercial film that they've done, but there is still plenty of the Coen's offbeat humor and darkness throughout the film. On one hand Intolerable Cruelty is a typical romantic comedy, but it is also anything but typical. It was a very good movie, a real treat to watch, and I was surprised by just how much I liked it. I would definitely recommend this movie.

Fun and Entertaining
Intolerable Cruelty is a fun and entertaining comedy. Catherine Zeta-Jones and George Clooney are cast perfectly opposite eachother. Billy Bob Thornton is also funny in this movie. I recommend this if you are looking for a good comedy to watch.

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