Rating: 
Summary: "You know... For Kids!"
Review: The amazing Coen brothers take us on a fantastic ride with The Hudsucker Proxy. Clearly, from the beginning to the end, you are emerged into a very surreal world set in the big city in 1940. Following the goofy, yet enjoyable Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins), we experience a rediculous ride to the top, and fall to the bottom. There are many things about this movie that just seem 'unreal', from the absurd dialogue, to the strange happenings, you get a sense of perfectness throughout the film, something that never happens in real life. I'd recommend this movie to anyone, especially Coen fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Am I Missing Something?
Review: I am a huge Coen Brothers fan, I love all their movies ( Blood Simple,Raising Arazona The Man Who Wasn't There, Barton Fink, Oh Brother, Big Lewbawski), but not this one, yet this movie seems to get the highest ratings. The sory didnt seem to have much substance, the humour was more cute then funny, The female reporter had the most anoying accent/voice. The story line i found to be too far fetched and full of holes. It was almost impossible to watch it the second time around. I'm glad i did watch it though, as I am a Coen Brothers fan. I would recomend that you hire the movie first, but going by reviews there is a 99% chance that you will love this film, I must be in that other 1%.
Rating:
Summary: Another Coen Bros. favorite
Review: I have loved all the films that the Coen Brothers have produced. This one was a bit of a surprise, Tim Robbins was an excellant choice for his part. I didn't even know it was a Coen Bros. movie until after about the first 30 minutes, then the light bulb in my head came on, and I KNEW it had to be. I enjoy their brand of humor and tongue in cheek quips, it was recognizable. Like the early Marx Bros. movies, I love the pace and that its often better the second time watching it. I like the undertones like that of a Brit made movie.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Comic Take on ¿50s Corporate America
Review: New York in the late 1950s. Norville Barnes (Robbins) is a nobody who gets a job in the hilariously nightmare-ish mail room of the vast Hudsucker Corporation. But he is ambitious. He has a wild business idea represented by a circle on a piece of paper he is given to waving at people. This of course instantly convinces them they are talking to a moron who has just, quite literally, reinvented the wheel. At it later transpires that is not what he has done. A moron, however, is exactly what the boardroom, led by evil Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman), wants. Company founding president Waring Hudsucker has just thrown himself to his death from the top floor and his fellow board members learn that the company rules deem his dominant share in the company stock must be put on sale to the general public in the New Year. If only they could get it to fall so low they could buy it themselves. If only they could hire such an idiot as President that shareholder confidence would collapse. At which point who should walk into Mussburger's office to deliver a letter but Barnes...The result is quite excellent movie. It's not quite as good as the best of the Coen Brothers later stuff which it often anticipates. Thus it starts out with a voice-over section as the camera sweeps into New York City from a distance, humourously establishing both the place and the central character, that strongly anticipates the opening of "Big Lebowski". And it's very evidently inspired by a host of earlier classic American movies in much the way "Lebowski" and "Oh Brother" were. The ghost of Frank Capra is never very far away. And the most important character I've not yet mentioned, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Amy, the hard boiled journalist who sets out to expose Barnes but ends up as the love interest, is clearly enough based on characters like Rosalind Russell's Hildy Johnson in "His Girl Friday". That's another movie this isn't quite as good as. But that again is praising it with faint damnation: most novels, including some great ones, aren't as good as "Mansfield Park"! And this is a truly splendid film, a really excellent, beautifully written and extremely funny movie that deserves to be better known.
Rating: 
Summary: the Coens' underrated, most underappreciated film!
Review: After a string of critically acclaimed films it seemed inevitable that the Coens would eventually get slammed by the critics at some point. The Hudsucker Proxy was that film. Criticized for unsuccessfully blending the sensibilities of Frank Capra and Preston Sturges and tagged with a title that the general public did not understand, the film disappeared quickly from theaters. It's too bad because there is a lot going on in this film. As always, it has the Coens flawless, stunning production values. This was the first film where the boys had a huge budget to play with and boy did they ever put every cent up on the screen. This is a fantastical version of New York City in the '50s -- think Terry Gilliam's Brazil but with all the nightmarish, Orwellian influences. The film also features the Coens trademark snappy dialogue. Lots of verbal acrobatics and a cast that is more than up for the task. Jennifer Jason Leigh is the stand-out as she morphs effortlessly into Katherine Hepburn with her rapid-fire delivery and very distinctive way of speaking. She is excellent. Tim Robbins, at first, seems like an unlikely guy to play a schlub, a dim-witted patsy. But then take a look at his career-defining performance in Bull Durham to see that the Coens knew exactly what they were doing when they cast him. Paul Newman is also wonderful as the evil Sidney J. Mussberger (love that name!) and he imparts just the right amount of comical menace. Fans of Sam Raimi will want to check this one out for two reasons. First, Sam's main man, Bruce Campbell has a significant role as Smitty, an ace reporter who is Leigh's foil throughout the film. It's great to see Campbell in a Coen bros. film -- I wish he'd be in more of 'em! Also, Raimi not only co-wrote the screenplay but he also did the bulk of the second unit work. Check out the famed hula hoop creation sequence. Sam directed that bit. He also has a cameo as one of the guys who thinks up the name Hula Hoop. This is a really great film that deserves a larger audience. Many people regard this as the Coens weakest film to date but I dunno 'bout that. I love watching this movie and I have fond memories of seeing it on the big screen. The DVD is fine with a solid transfer and good sound. Sadly, no real extras to speak of but it is definitely worth picking up if you're a fan of the Coens.
Rating:
Summary: you know, its for kids
Review: funny and awesome. this is a treat. featuring the talents of Paul Newman, Tim Robbins, Bruce Campbell, Charles Durning, John Mahoney and the gorgeous and wonderful Jennifer Jason Leigh as Amy Archer. Durning(Hudsucker) lep from the building of his own building(hilarious bit) and splats and then Paul Newman and others are faced with a horrid truth, they have to have some lowlife run the company. Robbins(dipwitted at times) gets a BLUE LETTER and is sent up the stairs to see Newman who then Newman hired Robbins to run the company and all the longwile, Leigh(Archer) trys to undercover a big story. the Coen brothers are masters at what they do. Bruce Campbell adds some spark as well as one of Leigh's coworkers for the newspaper.
Rating:
Summary: A BLOCKBUSTER THAT, INTRIGUINGLY, NEVER QUITE BECAME ONE!
Review: If Fargo could bag an Oscar, The Hudsucker Proxy should be Required Viewing. To put it simply, this is sheer genius on tape, there really is so little not to like about this film. The Coens attempted to revive the screwball comedy genre, and boy did they do it. Tim Robbins enjoys himself immensely as the gormless mailroom boy promoted to company President in the space of one day as a patsy to allow boardroom creeps to gain control of the Hudsucker company. Jennifer Leigh's amalgam of Katharine Hepburn/Rosalind Russell/Jean Arthur (from the 1930s) is priceless. I personally felt Paul Newman was a bit wasted in his role, but that's just me. However, these performances would be for nothing if it wasn't for the marvellous script- witness the boardroom scenes in which the directors discuss how many floors it was that Mr Hudsucker fell ("not including the mezzanine") or the scene in which they interrogate Norville about his new invention. The script is also responsible for the fantastic line "Y'know, for kids!" which means nothing if you haven't seen the movie but now always makes me laugh whenever I think of it. Film making at its finest. Rent it, steal it, embezzle it -- but watch this gem!
Rating:
Summary: You know, for kids!
Review: When Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning) of Hudsucker's Industry commits suicide by plunging out the window of his building, the board of directors lead by Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman) comes up with a brilliant scheme. They will appoint a 'proxy' president for the company, someone so stupid that their stocks will drop. And when they do, the board of directors will buy up all the stocks, then restore their fortunes. So who do they appoint as their proxy? Who else but idealistic and naive Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins)? But things don't exactly work out perfectly for the greedy board of directors as Pulitzer winner report, Amy Archer (Jennifer Jason Leigh), starts digging around. And suprisingly, Norville just might not have been the perfect 'dummy'... The key word to describing this movie would probably be 'bizarre'. And bizarre it is. The plot is admittabley very original, and the directors (and writers) Joel and Ethan Coen put a certain style into this movie which we don't see very often. Most of the humor is incredibly dry while there is some slapstick involved. The characters in the film are not your average characters in that they are so obviously two-dimensional but the actors give such a flair into their acting that you can't help but love 'em. Take Tim Robbins as Norville for example, he's totally lovable though he's not actually very birhg or incredibly smart. But I must say that Jennifer Jason Leigh's character Amy Archer is one of the most fascinating characters I've seen. She's a replica of the sassy Katherine Hepburn and as fast-talking as Rosalind Russel in "His Girl Friday". She just talk soooooo fast that I recommend you see the movie at least twice to enjoy her dialogue all the more so. My recommendation for "The Hudsuckers Proxy"? I'd say that a rental first is a good idea. I'm really not sure if everyone will love this movie since I feel that only certain people could appreciate the humor and the whole 'bizarreness' of the film.
Rating:
Summary: "Such is business, such is life."
Review: What a marvellous film it is. Norville Barnes is a passionate young guy when he comes from Muncie to New York for work. By chance he becomes the president of the Hudsucker Industry on the Wall Street. From then some interesting and exciting story begins. Casted by Tim Robbins (one of my favorite actors) and Paul Newman, this film is constituted with fine story and witty business concepts. It's some kind of business film, just like "Wall Street", but is filled with more moving characteristics. One big point of "Wall Street" is about money, guilt and morality, and "The Hudsucker Proxy" is about motivation, success and failure, facing the cheat, overcoming the obstacles, etc., which is more positive and active than "Wall Street". We could get to know some aspects of real corporate operations which involve humanity, self-interest, motivation and something like that. Also, innovation could be discovered in this film and seems to be of great importance and influece. Besides, the Hudsucker Industry in this film is a huge corporation, and the fact that it's terribly difficult to step up from the basement in such corporation is revealed, too. So, chance plays an important role in the success of business career.
To sum up, this film is very good and maybe almost great. People who are interested in business issues, personnel career and business films shall not miss it. It will bring you some ideas except entertainment.
Only a few defects could be found in this film, which is the role of the actress. In my opinion, she didn't do well and it seems a little unnatural of her casting.
Totaly speaking, it's worth watching. Some marvellous factors constitute this film. Through it we may see something about life.
Rating:
Summary: CAPRAMANIA
Review: The Coen brothers and Samuel Raimi belong to this wave of young american directors that appeared in the eighties and that replaced the John Huston, Richard Brooks and Arthur Penn's generation which slowly retired at that time. Some of these young wolves, like Michael Bay, were more interested in presenting inept pictures without a single ounce of originality while the Coen brothers and Samuel Raimi's movies, with the years passing by, were becoming more and more worthy of the works of their illustrious elders. In this viewpoint, THE HUDSUCKER PROXY can be watched as an homage to one of the heroes of the Hollywood of the thirties and the forties : Frank Capra. If you're familiar with the movies of the director of NEW-YORK-MIAMI, you'll certainly greatly appreciate THE HUDSUCKER PROXY that presents scenes inspired by such movies as Capra's MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU or MEET JOHN DOE. If you don't remember or, worse, don't know these movies, THE HUDSUCKER PROXY could seem a little strange at times to you. For instance, the scenes with Bill Cobbs's or with the angel lose totally their impact if you haven't seen the Capra movies. I know, it's not fair but cinema is an art that lives on ashes. When the fire was so good, who cares ! A DVD zone respect.
|
