Rating: 
Summary: The Limbo
Review: The Coen brothers are best known for their hard comedies, fast paced movies with intelligent, crazy plots and characters, amazing speedy dialogues and unusual situations. Examples that fit this description are 'The hudsucker proxy', 'O Brother where art thou' and, most of all, the excellent 'Fargo'. Their last effort before the present feature, though, was not a comedy ' 'The man who wasn't there' - but more like a dark-looking movie, visually beautiful and great acting by Billy Bob Thornton, but too slow and depressing to be considered a comedy, more like a satire. In 'Intolerable cruelty' they're back in their best genre, but there are some conception mistakes in it that makes it go to The Limbo of the forgettable movies. The plot is somewhat funny in its own shallowness: Catherine Zeta Jones chases rich men, marry them and then tries to steal their money by means of law suits. George Clooney is the Pope of marital law, defending the fooled husbands. The acting style resembles the one from 'O Brother...', but that movie was what in literature we would call a stereotypical farce. Besides, 'O Brother...' is based on the Odissey, so we have nothing to comment on the plot. This two thing summed up and made it a very good comedy. In 'Intolerable cruelty', this acting style didn't fit. The background is much too usual, and the viewer can't help but thinking the characters are silly. And I'm getting tired to watch Catherine ZJ ' gorgeous as always - repeating the usual femme fatale role. The good parts are that the dialogue is still diabolically fast and witty, and some very funny situations make the whole audience laugh hard. And, most of all, Billy Bob Thornton as a nearly-incomprehensible texan. The Coens have done much better. Hope they improve next time. Grade 6.5/10
Rating: 
Summary: A Nod to Hollywood's Golden Age
Review: This Coen brother's film is a delightful nod to the screwball comedies of the 30's and 40's complete with an Abbott and Costello-esque courtroom banter scene as the judge enters the courtroom and a romp with an asthmatic hired-killer that would have worked in any Mark Brothers film. Like the really classic screwball comedies of Hollywood's golden age, we are presented with people we shouldn't like, in this case a divorce lawyer and a woman who marries for money and turns them into people we want to see wind up together. There are twists and surprises typical in any Coen Brothers film which always take the stereotype of a character and then pushes it over the edge so that nothing is ever exactly the way it seems. Comparisons to Fargo are futile. This isn't Fargo, this is an entirely different type of movie, just as each of the Coen brothers films have been and absolutely unlike any other comedy to come out of Hollywood in the last 20 years. Clooney and Jones lit up the screen with chemisty and it is an utterly delightful return to the Cary Grant/Katherine Hepburn type of comedy that worked so well in films like the Philadelphia Story and Bringing Up Baby.
Rating: 
Summary: A poor movie - very disappointing!
Review: This movie promised so much but delivered so little. It was a very poor movie and a major disappointment! Avoid at all costs!
Rating:
Summary: watered-down Coen Bros.
Review: This film will be seen by movie buffs who recognize the producer/ director team known as the Cohen Brothers. These are the same folks who brought us Fargo and the smash O, Brother Where Art Thou? In comparison, Intolerable Cruelty lacks the edge and sophistication of their previous work. There are some impossibly absurd characters that add color, but overall this is light-weight fare that doesn't quite satisfy.
Rating:
Summary: fun movie, but not a fun Coen Bros. movie
Review: George Clooney is Miles Massey, a divorce law king who may have met his match. Catherine Zeta Jones is Marylin - the queen of gold-digging divorcees (who marries so often, it's pointless to giver her last name). Naturally, their respective professions guarantee that they'll cross paths and, given that this is a movie, they're bound to fall in love. Except that this is also a Coen brothers movie ("Fargo", "Blood Simple", "Oh Bother", "Raising Arizona"), which means that we're not sure exactly what's on their minds. Being great judges of character, each can spot the other from miles away - but something causes each to lower his/her guard for the other. Is it love? And since this is a Coen brothers movie, what schemes will they cook up against each other before they grow up and honestly fall for each other (or simply fall about each other). Massey is an ace at the warfare of divorce law - which he proves phenomenonly well in the first half hour (despite solid proof of adultery, he manages to win all for the wife of a soap-opera producer played by Geoffrey Rush; he has crafted the perfect, impenenetrable pre-nuptial agreement) and though he wins an early battle against Marilyn, we begin to wonder if perhaphs he has bitten off way too much than he can chew. "Intolerable" is fun, but it's not the breathless fun of other Coen comedies like "Brother" or "Hudsucker Proxy" with its fast moving dialog and endless visual gags. For a change, the Coens don't lard their story with hysterically off-balance supporting characters (like John Goodman or Charles Durning), and little of the plot goes to throwing us off balance with the intricate plotting of its stars. Unfortunately, the twists and turns seem less ironic than simply confusing (they love each other, they must conquer each other, they must destroy each other, but they can't live without each other). The movie sets us up not to be surprised by the turns of its characters - Clooney starts off chipper but obviously dissatisfied with his life, and almost immediately smitten with Zeta-Jones; Marilyn only wants financial independence and freedom, but there are women who got that without having to choose it over love, and it's not long before she begins to wonder over whether there's more to happiness than a Porsche. Worse, in spots, the film hints at the sort of mad-cap fun that the Coen brothers are known for. There are some extra characters who do seem off-center, but they appear only briefly rather than ride the length of the flick, notably "Cedric the Entertainer" as a private investigator who works for anybody wanting to uncover any piece of evidence of infidelity ("nail his ass" - that's his motto) but he disappears too soon, as if the flick couldn't come up with some way to tap into his energy. There's also Billy Bob Thornton who appears to be a fast-talking scion of Texas oil money, the kind of character a Coen flick should be chok-filled with - but since "Intolerable" has few surprises, it can't keep your mind busy enough to forget that he might be one of Marilyn's weapons of destruction. There's also Edward Herrman as Marilyn's first domestic victim (at least the first one in this movie). His big problem isn't so much infidelity (though that is a problem) as much as a preoccupation with trains. It's during his trial that the flick tosses some of the madcap jokes (a bout of fast wordplay between Clooney and a fellow lawyer with Herrman between them; a flamboyant concierge with some dirt on Zeta-Jones and Herrman) that may remind Coen fans of other movies. It's only another sign that "Intolerable" is actually a conventional romantic comedy that tries to be a Coen brothers movie, but doesn't quite pull it off. In short, if you're up for amovie, go for it. Coen Bros. fans may not tolerate this one.
Rating:
Summary: Great actors... not a great movie!
Review: Too bad! I was hoping to love this movie. I thought that Zeta-Jones and Clooney would be a hit together. This movie was a bore. Very predictable and slow going at that! The actors looked great but the movie script made me question the quality of films that these two well liked actors are appearing in.
Rating:
Summary: Woeful. awful, unfunny mess! Avoid!
Review: This is a dreadful film. Woeful, awful and unfunny. This is a mess! Avoid!
Rating:
Summary: Not as Good as their previous films but close enough
Review: Intolerable Cruelty is by no means Joe and Ethan Coen best effort but it still has their trade mark stamp of eccentricity. George Clooney is fine as Miles Massey, a divorce attorney who is very good at his job but is smitten with a former client wife played equally as good by Catherine Zeta Jones who is out to take him for all he is worth. Edward Herrmann Is also very good as Clooney's client and Jones Ex husband. Like all romantic comedies, they do fall in love, but like all Coen Brothers film, nothing is as strait forward as they seem. On their path to romance, there are other men, more dirty dealings, and a death scene that has to be seen to believe. The problem I had with the movie is that it does lack a considerable amount of charm that the Coen Brothers other movies had in spades. O Brother Where Art Tho? Is a prime example of this because it had a true sense of charm with the far out plot that was with it. This film is more mean spirited in certain areas than it needs to be but it does retain some sense of balance between itself and the subject matter at hand. Despite this, this is another good film by the Coen Brothers, and I being a fan of their work, can't wait for their next collaboration.
Rating:
Summary: Picking on Cary.
Review: When I first saw the previews for INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, I thought to myself, "Oh, great, another romantic comedy." Then I saw it was a Coen brothers' picture. I knew then that this wasn't going to be the typical romantic comedy. And it's not. The Coen's have a knack for updating old films and giving them their own little twist (THE HUDSUCKER PROXY, O'BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?). In INTOLERABLE CRUELTY the Coen's update those charming 1930-1950's romantic comedies (often starring Cary Grant or somebody with his looks) that we love so much. Clooney is once again the lead man playing a lawyer who has it all, but love. In some ways, his character is a continuation of the one he played in O'BROTHER, for example in O'BROTHER his character was fascinated by his hair and in INTOLERABLE CRUELTY his character is obsessed with his teeth. Both films deal with a journey, but this time Clooney's character already is king of his world and he hasn't lost his kingdom (at least not initially). Catherine Zeta-Jones turns in a delightful performance as the man-hater trying to catch a rich husband. Zeta-Jones is a wonderful actress and for a change, it's a joy seeing someone who has a more, realistic figure, than many of the other leading ladies currently at the top of the game in Hollywood. The plot of INTOLERABLE CRUELTY is as convoluted as every other Coen picture and would take awhile to explain. Under an average director, the film would have suffered terribly. However, using that charming Coen wit, the brothers have taken a somewhat, cheesy parody and turned into a comic delight, complete with a happy ending. Both men and the women they love will enjoy this film. It's the perfect date movie.
Rating:
Summary: A tolerable 4.75 stars!!
Review: The Coen brothers won me over with the hilarious "O Brother Where Art Thou," so when I saw this film about to be released, I was, shall we say, excited. Add to the mix the always wonderful George Clooney and the marvelous Catherine Zeta-Jones, and you get what promises to be a great ride.
"Intolerable Cruelty" does not disappoint. I came in with high expectations for this film, and I was more than happy with the result. The acting is great. The script is great. The directing is great. It's just a fun, heartwarming movie.
"IC" is filmed with the same muted hues as "O Brother," and the humor is in the same vein, but a little bit more accessible. If you liked "Brother," you'll love this. If you didn't, there's still a chance you'll like it.
Clooney does a great job in his role as Miles; I think he continues to grow as an actor. After the moody "Solaris," it was nice to see him as a romantic, humorous lead. Zeta-Jones, recently of "Chicago" fame, is, if I may quote Clooney's character, "fascinating."
Great job all around to this cast and crew, marvelous film!!
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