Rating: 
Summary: Wildly Entertaining and Very Funny
Review: The story is set in Mississippi during the Great Depression. The silver tongued Everett McGill ( George Clooney)busts loose from a prison farm. However, he is still shackled to his two chain-mates from the chain gang - the bad tempered Pete ( John Turturo)and the sweet and dimwitted Delmar ( Tim Blake Nelson). With nothing else to lose, the trio sets off in search of buried treasure that will help them all start new lives. Everett claims that he stole and buried over one million dollars in cash. The only problem is that they only have four days to find it before it is lost forever at the bottom of a reservoir. But as luck would have it, they keep running into strange situations, and even stranger people. The trio steals a car, and eventually pick up a guitar playing hitchiker. To make some extra money, they stop at a radio station and pose as a music group called "The Soggy Bottom Boys". The record that they cut soon becomes the hottest record in the reigon. However, the adventure does not stop there, as they encounter many more strange characters that include : a blind prophet, a bank robber ( Michael Badalucco), a crooked one-eyed bible salesman ( John Goodman), and Everet's ex-wife ( Holly Hunter)who is about to get re-married. This crazy adventure filled with close calls, near misses, and betrayals will have you laughing every step of the way. Oh man, what an oustanding film. This film succeeds on so many levels. The first is the story itself. Watching the three run into one thing after the next will keep you entertained for the entire film. Next, is the amazing cast. George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Turturo are all spectacular in their roles. All three are extremely different, but will make you laugh the same. The supporting cast is quite good as well as features performances by Holly Hunter, Michael Badalucco, John Goodman, and Charles Durning. But perhaps the best thing about the film is the amazing soundtrack. It features a wide variety of different artists and each song is spectacular. Dan Tyminksi provides the singing voice for George Clooney on "I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow". This is the Soggy Bottom Boys song that serves as a template for the bluegrass laden soundtrack that also features : Alison Krauss, Ralph Stanley, The Whites, John Hartford, The Cox Family and Gillian Welch. The acting is spectacular, the music is amazing, the story is extremely well rounded, and it is down right hillarious. The DVD is outstanding. You not only get great picture and sound quality, but outstanding extras as well. The DVD offers a behind the scenes featurette, the " I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow" music video, and so much more. Definately a must own
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Film Event of All Time
Review: It thoroughly demonstrates the capacity for abstract thought.
Rating:
Summary: damn where in a tight spot
Review: likable movie by the Cohen brothers(Fargo, Raising Arizona and Blood Simple). Clooney gives a hilarious performance as Everett with all that hair gel stuff. sorta a version of The Odyssey with John Goodman as The one eyed bible saleman/KKK member. the part where Hunter trys to tell Clooneys kids he was hit by a train is the highlight. for fans of any of the stars or fans of the director
Rating:
Summary: You all are dumber than a sack of hammers.
Review: Yeah well I love this movie. It is a beautiful mixture of music with plot. It is a musical with a very fun and very interesting plot intertwined with it.
Rating:
Summary: who'd have thunk it?
Review: homer's odyssey... in '30s america? this is truly an amazing show with lots and lots and lots of terribly funny moments. incredible writing with exquisite photography and music score. admittedly, i haven't even read homer's story, which this movie is based on but what few i know of it is wackily portrayed by the coen brothers. and my, my, my... george clooney keeps on making better and better movies. never actually thought he could make it past er but well, he did. i especially love the way they make the travelling prophet a recurring character in this movie and how it finally tied up in the end. although on second thought there seems to be a lot of characters going in and out of the movie at bullet speed - and at first seems like they're just in for the fun - until the end when they all had a part to play. i get a headache just thinking of all those characters i try to keep up with. but hey... everything makes sense in the end... and what a fulfilling end it was. makes me feel squishy all over. just joking... it's an amazing movie, nonetheless and it introduces me to a whole new musical genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Blows by way too fast
Review: Everything in this movie blows by way too fast. So many characters and situations come and go that I found it hard to absorb it all. They say it is based on "The Odyssey", but it is a very thin adaptation. The southern accents are terrible and parts of the story make no sense at all.
Rating:
Summary: Boring movie
Review: This really is a stupid movie. I can't believe I wasted my time on this. I had no story line and displayed horrible acting. It is not the worst movie I have seen, but it is in the top ten.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable movie
Review: I couldn't believe the big stir about this movie, it seemed like everybody was talking about it. I finally jumped on the bandwagon and was not totally disappointed. George Clooney was thoroughly enjoyable as the smooth-talking 'one Ulysses Everett McGill', the leader of the trio of escaped cons seeking treasure. They meet a lot of interesting characters on their journey and there are many laugh-out-loud moments.
While I doubt this film has changed my life any, it was a lot of fun to watch - both for the story and the actual images - and the soundtrack was right up my alley.
Rating: 
Summary: Where art thou, life, money and comedy?
Review: If it wasn't for George Clooney, I probably would not have watched this film. This film I'm sure was well intended. However, since my family and myself in part came out of Kentucky and some thereabouts, I found this film depressing. I do understand the comedy they are making in the film. But, this film is also real and was real. Depends on where you lived and how you lived. The music is fine. That is what country music used to be. DVD contains the music video performed by Soggy Bottom Boys, "I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow", an 8-minute featurette on the production, and another 9-minute featurette "Painting With Pixels" on getting that old, dusty Kentucky look, the digital way.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bona-fide
Review: When I saw "Fargo" a few years back, I was thoroughly unimpressed. But so many people claimed its virtues, I began wondering if I'd just been in a bad frame of mind at the time. Having now seen "Oh Brother," by the same filmmakers, I know my impression of "Fargo" was no mistake. "Oh Brother" suffers from many of the same problems. Both films overwhelmingly rely on trite and shallow stereotypes of people (Fargo-Upper Midwesterners; Brother-Southerners) for their humor-such as it is. .... It's one thing to laugh at human foibles, it's another to make disparaging characterizations the central focus of the film-especially when there's little else to commend. "Oh Brother" skips along, illogically, with subplots that appear and disappear without any development and, often, without connection. For example, three escaped cons and a guitar player they meet on the road, hornswoggle their way on to a radio broadcast singing a highly polished rendition of "Man of Constant Sorrow"-although their connection to music up to that point in the film is non-existent. Later, they happen upon three sultry young women (Sirens) in the woods. The possibilities look good for our three cons when (poof!) two are now on the ground, waking-the third gone. No clue as to what happened in between. Kirk Douglas made us live, vividly, through every moment of his encounter with Sirens. "Oh Brother" by contrast, doesn't bother with such details. It's enough to say, "We met 'em--let's move on to the next scene." And don't forget the corn pone. Elsewhere, filmgoers are treated to a train, a mass baptism, a Ku Klux Klan rally, a bank robbery, a swindling Bible salesman, corrupt politicians, hound dogs and a sheriff with mirrored-glasses. Get the connection? Hee haw! "Oh Brother" has been widely associated with a resurgence or discovery of bluegrass music, the soundtrack selling millions. I, therefore, expected music to be at the forefront of the film. It isn't really (contrast with "The Blues Brothers"--where good music is at the fore and the plot is discernible). There are couple of nice bluegrass moments, however. In one, a group of people are singing as they walk toward a baptismal pool. In the other, The Whites are on a stage, looking as if they might be the Carter family (the film is set in the 30s)--singing "Sunny Side of the Mountain." But these moments, unfortunately, are short and they don't make up for the rest of the film. I'm puzzled at the connection of this film with bluegrass for one of the things that makes this type of music attractive is its authenticity. Bluegrass and old-time country is heartfelt, simple music, shorn of pretense and connected with the lives of real people. But there's nothing at all authentic about "Oh Brother," the film. In fact, it's almost as if the film is mocking the music. I was sorely disappointed to hear Ralph Stanley's voice (in its only appearance) coming out from behind a Ku Klux Klan hood. Based on the film, the music on the soundtrack is probably pretty good. But don't expect the film to be a representation of the spirit of that music.
| 
