The Ladykillers ---- ** (out of 5) (2004)
Cast: Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall, Marlon Wayans, J.K. Simmons, Tzi Ma
Director(s): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Screenwriter(s): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Released on: March 26, 2004
Reviewed on: August 16, 2004
Rated: R - for language, including sexual references
I've only viewed two films by the Coen brothers that I actually know of: THE LADYKILLERS and O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? Now that I've realized the Coens' type of odd, macabre humor, I can name several similarities between the two films that define the brothers' take-it-or-leave-it style of direction. Their distorted view on what is funny either hits or misses, and in the case of THE LADYKILLERS, the laughs are too infrequent, and the oddly written jokes aren't totally justifiable in the long run.
The film takes us into the comfortable, nostalgic southern town of Saucier. A suave, unusually polite gentleman named Professor G.H. Dorr has moved into Saucier and rented a room in the home of an aging black woman named Marva Munson. Unbeknownst to his landlord, the professor has gathered together a small group of otherwise inept comrades to aid him in a robbery. Easily convincing Marva that he and his "orchestra" are practicing their instruments in the basement, they go to work digging a tunnel through her wall to break into a riverboat casino and steal what amounts to be $1.6 million. However, once their efforts are unveiled, they must find a way to get the troublesome woman off their backs and out of the picture.
THE LADYKILLERS, for me, was a mixed bag of occasionally witty situations and unappealing drivel. I've found that the Coens seem to produce this kind of borderline material quite often with humor that's either cartoonishly amusing or downright disturbing. With their newest release, they never quite seem to hit their target successfully and are constantly teetering on the verge of making a solid cinematic impact but never quite reaching that vital point.
Part of this problem could be the casting choices in particular. The only real comedic relief in THE LADYKILLERS is Marlon Wayans, whose exaggerated exploitation of black culture is often hilariously true but is probably obnoxious if you're not a big fan of movies with lots of profanity and "ghetto slang." The other characters, besides Wayans, are just not all that interesting. Tom Hanks lays it on thick with his convincing southern accent and impression of a two-faced criminal with a sharp tongue. His role seemed to be the gimmick for THE LADYKILLERS, but his smartly-worded, endless ramblings and quotings of Edgar Allen Poe did not withstand the length of the film without growing tiresome and played out. Irma P. Hall's performance is adequate as a kind, but sometimes fiesty woman who isn't one to take any BS. The other characters in G.H. Dorr's gang of flunkies do their jobs well but are too one-dimensional to be mentioned. J.K. Simmons has some lines that are nicely delivered, but he is much more entertaining in Spider-Man 2.
To summarize all of my writing into one final paragraph, I'll just say that you shouldn't see this film unless you're a fan of the Coen brothers or have seen a couple of their other pictures and enjoyed them. They have a distinct style of writing that is recognizable in the script but doesn't necessarily shine through and through. The only few moments of dark comedy that struck the funnybone at the right time were the scenes with Marlon Wayans and the finale, which was worthy of a few chuckles despite being grim and somewhat sad, whether you liked the characters or not. Giving it a 2-star rating might seem unkind and needlessly harsh, but I can't overlook the feeling of disappointment and emptiness that I experienced after the film was over. It's not a total waste of time, but it doesn't warrant a viewing either because of the subject matter being unable to hold up underneath the length.
<<<< Back To Contrabandit's Movie Reviews
