Intolerable Cruelty Movie Review:


The Coen Brothers go surprisingly mainstream with this romantic comedy set among the movers and shakers in Beverly Hills. Fortunately the film is full of their usual black humour and quirky characterisations.

It's also one of the most original and funniest rom-coms in recent memory. Miles Massey (Clooney) is such a powerhouse divorce lawyer that he has an ironclad pre-nup named after him. Seemingly able to win a case no matter what side he's on, he finally meets his match in Marylin (Zeta-Jones), who instantly earns his respect with her shark-like gold-digging ways.

When Marylin and her lawyer (Jenkins) bear the indignities of his skills in her divorce trial, she quietly vows revenge, marrying an oil tycoon (Thornton) to make her fortune before going after the love-struck Miles.

Harking back to the sharply written screwball comedies of the 1940s, the dialog snaps and crackles with life, burying hilarious jokes in almost every line and keeping the cast on their toes. Performances have to walk a dangerous tightrope between broad goofiness and shrewd farce, and there are a couple of rather wobbly moments, but on the whole it's dead on target.

Clooney is terrific as the man without a conscience who's suddenly smitten, and Zeta-Jones holds her own in a glamorous but intriguingly thankless role. But it's the side characters that really spark, especially one-scene wonders like Hadary's insanely camp Baron Krauss von Espy and Keyes' dopey-wheezy hitman. Rush and Herrmann score in small parts as burned husbands, while Adelstein pokes fun at soppy sentiment as Miles' sucker-for-romance assistant.

Cedric's hysterically obnoxious private eye gets the film's best running gag. And there are a lot of them. The story itself is remarkably fresh, avoiding the standard Hollywood rom-com mould; it actually feels original for a change, barrelling through the story to an ending we could predict if we took even a second to worry about it.

This is a loud, colourful, amorous, slightly over-the-top comedy that keeps us laughing from start to finish. And for a couple of hours afterwards as well.

Rich Cline

LA’s most successful divorce attorney Miles Massey (Clooney) never loses a case. When Rex Rexroth (Herrmann) employs him after he is caught with his pants down by his long-suffering wife Marilyn (Zeta-Jones) and wanting her to get nothing in the divorce proceedings, Miles sees it as a challenge. This all changes when he meets her and instantly becomes fascinated with her gold-digging philosophy on marriage. Could he be feeling love in a world where Miles Massey doesn’t believe it exists?

The masterful Coen Brothers return with probably their most commercial film to date but the great news is that they have lost none of their quirkiness.

While their films may have a cult following and they are adored by the critics, the Coen’s have never really produced a real moneymaker that has connected with a wide audience. (There biggest hit been O Brother, Where Art Thou? which made $45 million in the US) Intolerable Cruelty should change all this. This unashamedly hilarious movie should tickle the funny bone of even the most morose individual as it provides more slapstick, farce and downright belly laughs than any other romantic comedy in a very long time.

The success of the film comes from the ability of the Coen’s to cast roles in their movies perfectly and this is no exception. George Clooney excels in the role of Miles Massey as he has a real talent for comedy and the script emphasizes this point. In his delivery of lines, the acting out of physical comedy situations and even just a look is enough to have you in stitches. Catherine Zeta-Jones has finally found a romantic comedy role that really suits her and even makes fun of her off-screen, press induced persona. All she has to do is look beautiful and come across as able to do anything to obtain her goals but seen as this seems to mimic the press’s preconceived notion on how she obtained her position in the Hollywood elite, it makes it all the more ironic and funny.

As ever the supporting cast are also first rate and not just from the big names. Billy Bob Thornton almost steals the show as the overly talkative Oil Tycoon Howard D. Doyle, Geoffrey Rush sets the tone for the movie in a riotous opening act and Cedric the Entertainer introduces the catchphrase that governs the entire movie. Paul Adelstein is outstanding as Miles’s second chair and friend Wrigley who just can’t control himself at weddings. Richard Jenkins shows again what a fine comedic actor he is and the confrontations between his character Freddy Bender and Miles are some of the highlights of the movie. Edward Herrmann is also extremely funny as the train obsessed philanderer Rex Rexroth.

Any fears that the Coen-ness of the picture might be lost due to the brothers not writing the original story are extinguished as soon as the movie starts. Their trademark quirkiness and sense of humour is abundant in droves so there is much to enjoy for both fan and newcomer. While it doesn’t have their usual visual flare, the characterisations more than make up for this. Hopefully the movie will bring more recognition to the brothers and first time viewers of their work will seek out their back catalogue.

Intolerable Cruelty is one of the best romantic comedies to grace the silver screen in a very long time. With a charismatic leading man, a gold digging femme-fatal, an eccentric cast of supporting characters and a side-splittingly funny script, this film raises The Bar for the rom-com genre.

Star Rating = * * * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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