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Intolerable Cruelty (Widescreen Edition)

Intolerable Cruelty (Widescreen Edition)

List Price: $14.98
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: As Shallow and Empty as Reading Someone's Pre-Nap Agreement
Review: So it's Coen Brothers again, and if it were not for their names put on the DVD, you would not find "Intolerable Cruelty" good as many critics actually did. In short, the Coens are pulling punches when they shouldn't, relying on the "stars" of the film, and instead they give us nothing but a shallow imitation of the 40s screwball comedy.

George Clooney plays the hero of the romantic comedy, the divorce lawyer who fell for Catherine Zeta-Jones's character who takes advantage of now (in)famous pre-naptial agreements to get more money. And of course, they fight each other at first, in and out of the court, and then fall in love perhaps, but that obligatory process is no problem if these two stars have the same kind of sweet, natural charm as Cary Grant.

But sorry, I see none here, and George Clooney is the same old Clooney speaking with the lopsided head; and Ms. Zeta-Jones is no fun, who leaves nothing but an impression that after all she cannot act, literally equating the watching experience of her with the idea "Intolerable Cruelty."

The greatest mistake is that the film refuses to question or make fun of these "pre-naps." By doing so, the men and women here (especially the latter) start to look unnaturally greedy. And after all, when it's about rich people trying to deceive each other, why should we care? We cannot relate to the characters who should be more charming and more human. They are preoccupied with these pre-nap contracts which sound to many of us as remote as the big swimming pool depicted in this film, which makes the whole story ridiculous.

OK, I know the silly story is there to entertain us, and good supports remind us of that, including Billy Bob Thornton, Richard Jenkins, and most of all the great Geoffrey Rush who shows us how to act in this comedy, always funny with measured comic acting even in the brief screen time given to him. I wish the two leads had learned something from him, but as it is....

If you want to see screwball comedy, see classic ones like "His Girl Friday," or any one in the 40s, not this shallow one.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: zzzzz!
Review: Bored me to tears. Spending valubale 90 minutes on this kind of rubbish can make you cry even more. The so called "romantic comedies" from US are usually a pretty bad lot and this one is a among the worst examples of the genre.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Coens' attempt to revive 40s screwball comedies
Review: The Coen brothers got their hands in this revival of 1940s screwball comedies late and managed to bring it to life. Though it is not a perfect film, George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones do a fine job as sparring divorce attorney Miles Massey and golddigger-with-a-plan Marylin Rexroth. There are lots of twists and turns and a very good supporting cast, including Billy Bob Thornton and Geoffrey Rush. DVD extras include a 12-minute making-of featurette, a 5-minute look at the wardrobe, outtakes, cast and filmmaker info, and a number of features available for your computer. The film can be heard in English, French or Spanish and optional subtitles are available in French or Spanish. Fun and entertaining.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hysterical, but too much self promo on CD
Review: I first saw this one at the theatre. I've never seen my wife laugh as hard as she did while watching this.

Many a reviewer has already covered the theme. To rehash briefly, Clooney is a divorce attorney with absolutely no scruples. Zeta Jones is a gold digger. Lots can be done with those characters and the Coen brothers do a masterful job. There was a touch of "Raising Arizona" when two lead characters look at each other and scream "AHHHHHHHHH" in astonishment. And the dogs chasing, among others, the character played by Cedric the Entertainer.

Be prepared to laugh, and laugh hard. Some of the film is pretty slapstick. But that's all right. If it's done okay, let it be.

There's a little black comedy in that many of the characters are not exactly the height of human capacity.

The only thing I have against the CD is that they have the usual, "About..." the film section with a few outtakes and whatnot. It's a letdown only in that I'm getting tired of spending money on a CD, then finding it promotes itself as much as just enjoying the show. I'm told that I'll have to get used to that. But I'm more inclined, frankly, to avoid purchases of CDs for that reason. I want to see a film I enjoy, not have a half hour of the actors telling the viewer how great they are, the great chemistry they had among each other and with the director. I can do without the hype.

Aside from that, again, it's a funny flick. Those reviewers who found it boring, or bad, are from a different world (or they didn't understant the satire, etc.) Take my word for it: It's funny.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not exactly what I expected
Review: Judging by the reviews for this movie when it first came out, I was looking forward to a romantic black comedy with chemistry reminiscent of Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn, with maybe a little bit more mean-spirited conniving. Well, I got the mean-spirited.

The good news is that this definitely qualifies as black comedy; the bad news is that there is little excitement between Clooney and Zeta-Jones. Please don't misunderstand- they're both good actors and manage to have chemistry with their scenery when needed; they just don't manage here to create any kind of magic or spark. It's believable that they would be attracted to each other, if only on the basis of their looks, but that they would recognize within each other their perfect match (however unsavory that might be)? It's just not there.

Cleverness was also missing. While the Las Vegas wedding with kilts and the poodle-stroking Baron were good for a few laughs, the general effect of the Coen gags were to make me pull back and watch as I shook my head at the unbelievable insanity of so many of the setups. The overall effect was a little bit alienating, which was a shame since I was already having trouble buying into the characters.

Another letdown was how generally uneven the film was. It's tawdry- Zeta-Jones' ex-husband and his various mistresses; it's slightly adolescent- all of the screams (screams!) uttered by Clooney and his sidekick, as well as the gags with the pepper spray and the asthma medication; and it's surreal- the scenes in the courtroom and then the senior partner's office. All of those elements could work in a better executed film, but here all of it seemed thrown together, with the final effect flat.

This movie isn't without it's merits. Geoffrey Rush, Cedric the Entertainer and Billy Bob Thornton are outright hilarious, and whenever they came on the film perked up with promise. And the climax of the film (the aforementioned scene with the pepper spray and asthma meds) was hysterical. (However, it's probably not a good thing that my ten-year-old predicted the outcome 2 minutes before it happened).

This is a good movie to see once, but it's probably not one you'll want to watch again and again.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not great, but good for a few laughs.
Review: Granted, this isn't the Coens' best work. But it does have its moments of comic delight. You'll enjoy it if you don't expect too much from it. Besides, you could do much work, like renting anything with The Rock in it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Silly movie
Review: George Clooney plays a divorce lawyer who always goes for the jugular in his clients' settlements. Catherine Zeta-Jones is a gold-digger who is building her fortune by marrying and divorcing wealthy men. Inevitably they meet when Clooney is representing Zeta-Jones's husband in a divorce. Clooney manages to keep her from getting any of her husband's money and she vows to get revenge. There is a harum-scarum plot with an asthmatic hit man, a Scottish wedding, and various pre-nuptual agreements which usually end up in tatters on the floor. This is a pretty silly movie and the only surprising part is that two stars of this magnitude would let themselves be persuaded to be a part of it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: enjoyable movie!
Review: For any Coen brother's film you know you will expect something different. And this film is pretty different and in my opinion pretty enjoyable to watch! There were some interesting scenes here and there and very funny scenes! I like the lines in this film and the acting is not that bad either. Its the kind of movie that if there was this specific scene that I liked...I would watch it again and again because it was really good! If you feel like you want to watch something different...watch this!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Intolerable Cruelty
Review: This is a goofy moving. I was expecting something a bit more sophistiated. An OK rental, but I would not spend the money to see it in a theater or to own it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A MAINSTREAM COEN BRO'S FILM
Review: Unlike most people I think this is a very well done film, never once have the Coen Bro's dissapointed and they didn't with this one. Maybe people didn't like this one as much because three other guys helped with the script [that includes story credit]. But it's obvious that this is a Coen Bro's film just by listening to the style of humor in it. The over all style of the film gives off that whole feel of one of their films.

George Clooney once again reunites with the bro's on this one. I feel he stole the show with his prefomance in this one. Also Catherine did an excellent job on this one. The entire cast did great jobs in this film. I pearsonally was not dissapointed with this film at all.


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