Hail, Caesar!

By: John Delia

Taking some script ideas from the forties and fifties flicks, Joel and Ethan Coen pen the wacky Hail, Caesar! The movie has a nice feel to it, especially scenes with the flashy dance numbers, spectacular extravaganzas and of course the epic Ben Hur type historical production. Weaving its way through this film; however, is a dastardly story about movie stars and their everyday problems on the set. Oh, and an untimely kidnapping.

Our central character Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) has the thankless job with Capitol Pictures Studios of “fixer.” He’s the guy who has to keep the stars and starlets in line, even rescuing them from their personal public incidents. He knows all the gossip columnists, even the dangerous ones like Thora and Thessaly Thacker (Tilda Swinton) who would love to ferret out a juicy story about one of Capitol Pictures actors. And the two are swarming over an insider’s information that their top movie star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) has not shown up on the set of his current film Hail, Caesar! A Tale of the Christ.

Why has Whitlock been kidnapped? Will the studio have to risk bringing in the police that will give the gossip columnists a field day? Why is song-and-dance superstar Burt Gurney (Channing Tatum) out of step? And what has gorgeous swim star DeeAnna Moran (Scarlet Johansson) gotten herself into? All the answers and more are revealed in Hail, Caesar!

The Coen Brothers are right on their game making nonsense fun to watch. Past films like O Brother, Where Art Thou, Fargo, The Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona have been winners for their off-beat humor. Well Hail, Caesar! certainly fits the humor, but not so much of a winner for main stream moviegoers. The film gets askew very quickly, loses its penchant for the characters and turns into a bit too much “golden oldie.” And, not to be outdone by the film Trumbo, they include a long artistic group dissertation on the ideology of the Communist Manifesto.

I like Josh Brolin’s character that leads the pack, but not so much the cameos. Every other cast member gets to play themselves on the screen from the tap dancing Channing Tatum (think Gene Kelly) to the high flying Scarlet Johansson (think Esther Williams). They’re all walk on characters with little energy yet give a likeable impression. Even Tilda Swinton (think Hedda Hopper) becomes a quick face of a typical demanding reporter with not enough contribution to the whole screenplay. Then, there’s George Clooney (think Kirk Douglas) who does with his role what’s to be expected, an appearance as the kidnapped victim that deserves a large ransom.

I do like what Alden Ehrenreich as Hobi Doyle brings to the screen, a seedy westerner (think John Wayne) who has been asked to play a role as an upper class gentleman. And his character’s forced into the hands of Capitol Picture’s biggest director Lawrence Lorentz played by Ralph Finnes (think William Wyler). The chemistry between the two far outweighs the other performances in the film. I am still laughing about their scenes together.

Well, I just dissed the Coen Brothers (my favorite duo directors), but unless you are a fan of the Golden Age of movies you needed to know. But the music is magnificent, dancing upbeat, cinematography exceptional and costumes are brilliant.

Hail, Caesar! Has been rated PG-13 for some suggestive content and smoking.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Not the most entertaining film from the Coen Brothers, but worth a watch. (C- for main stream film goers, B- for film buffs and fans of the Coen Brothers)