Binge in the time of Corona - The Coen Brothers 👍

After the Marx Brothers, before the Russo Brothers, and in parallel to the Wachowski siblings, there were the Coen Brothers. Every movie a trip, even if some go nowhere or into a brick wall. I could never tell from the poster or the trailer how a Coen Brothers movie will end and that alone is worth the watch. But with a career as long as theirs some titles are bound to be duds so lets’ separate the winners from the pointless, self-indulgent and annoying to stave off the madness of quarantine for a little while longer.

Dude Approved - The Crème de la Coen

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) – Between this movie and Trumbo the question must be asked, why can’t every movie contain John Goodman beating someone with a bat? He seems to really like it, it’s a joy to behold, I wanted to see George Clooney beaten with a bat since Batman & Robin, it’s perfect! The movie is a very loose adaptation of The Odyssey where Odysseus is a criminal, and his two chain gang mates escape to retrieve a treasure through 1937’s America on an epic tale through police pursuit, the sirens, the Ku Klux Klan, the cyclops and huckster gubernatorial politics. Full marks all around with a standout performance from John Turturro, and you will know the moment comes when they sit around the campfire. Listen to his dream and you will hear a man who knows what it’s like to have nothing.

Intolerable Cruelty (2003) – a.k.a “love in the times of prenups” a.k.a “50 shades of ripping out a man's genitals through his wallet.” is a Machiavellian courtroom comedy about love vs. greed. The top divorce lawyer and an ultimate gold-digger in a whirlwind romance to rediscover their humanity in their love for each other. The writing is smart, the humor lands masterfully, it captures human vulnerability in the trademark Coen way, stripping cynicism from the two leads to reveal the heart intimately and organically. Good for all seasons with the unexpected bonus is the first honest performance of George Clooney.

Only the Coens can look at The Sexiest Man Alive of 1997 and not see a suave ladies’ man, entering a room and making panties spontaneously combust. They show us that it is just his mask, his shield against the world seeing he is a bumbler, anxious, a coward, lacking self-confidence, greedy, arrogant, in a word, flawed. This is George Clooney in his most human role of the man who wants to be George Clooney. In Intolerable Cruelty, he is a human being like the rest of us, who just happens to look like George Clooney. In a sentence, go and see it, it’s just good. Need more? There’s a cameo from Geoffrey Rush’s ass, I hope this closes the deal for you, you weirdo.

No Country for Old Men (2007) – Two men fighting over a treasure, cutting a bloody trail through all the guns of the worlds of law and crime in the way. This movie proves that the scariest of writers is a comedian. All the satirical reframing of the every day in the whimsical Coen movies is turned toward a sense of claustrophobic dread in Country for Old Men. Gritty, violent and merciless in just the right way, the movie will keep you on the edge of your seat, so be ready for the emotional high midday when sudden noises won’t cause a panic attack. The movie delivers a breakout performance of Javier Bardem and the best reunion of Tommy Lee Jones and Woody Harrelson since Natural Born Killers. Already saw it? Rewatch to confirm the theory that***SPOILERS*** Anton Chigurh and Llewelyn Moss are the same guy, and have a good day, friendo.

The Big Lebowski (1998) – Hello mole people, welcome to the surface, have a fun-sized Twix. To understand our current culture please watch Casablanca, Original trilogy Star Wars and The Big Lebowski. The last one is about a man looking for his carpet, besieged by sword-wielding techno-pop nihilists, an Uzi-toting Shomer Shabbos and naked flying Julianne Moore. To the rest of humanity, this is a good palate cleanser after No Country for Old Men, or to put it simply, “The Dude Abides”.

Despite being one of the most, if not the most iconic Coen Brothers movies, this one is the most skip-able on a solo watch due to sheer familiarity. If you can’t quote 5 lines from the movie than you gave yourself away Terminator, good luck killing John Connor. Watch with other quarantine housemates, kidnap victims or both, passing the popcorn and racing each other to the quotes. It’s a classic, best spoiled with friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd-go0oBF4Y

Raising Arizona (1987) – A very personal crime comedy about the lengths a couple will go to in order to have kids. The childless couple decides to steal a baby to fill their empty nest, causing such a disturbance in the force that the world must correct it by unleashing the lone biker of the apocalypse upon the earth. This is of the few crime comedy with fully fleshed-out characters you can relate to through the challenge of stolen parenthood, and take a journey into vulnerability, struggle, and redemption. Always recommended, and oddly enough contains Nicolas Cage dreaming of a better Ghost Rider short film than he did with two feature-length movies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjWu8i6eMZo

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) – A tale of the people who get stuck in the cogwheels of the corporate machine. The movie is a funhouse mirror ride through the heart of corporate insanity in an industrialized world that is straight out of Modern Times. Tim Robbins leaves it all out on the field in a Charlie Chaplin of a kind fool caught in a scheme of corporate interests, surviving on charm, innovation and dumb luck. Jennifer Jason Leigh accompanies him on his journey as the best Lois Lane I have ever seen outside of a Superman movie. While the second act is as linear and boring as the first act is immersive and funny, the third act swoops in a save the day in a very sweet way. A good movie to close the day with, sweet and relaxing. Extra credit to whoever makes a music video to Working In The Coal Mine by Lee Dorsey using this movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBa8p0NFwM8