At first glance Intolerable Cruelty doesn't seem like a typical Coen brothers movie at all. With its 'rom-com' vibe and disgustingly good-looking leads, it seems like the Coens had sold out to the studios and were chasing the big bucks like everyone else.
Oh ye of little faith! If anything Intolerable Cruelty is one of the most enjoyable Coen flicks since Hudsucker Proxy. Set among the shark-infested waters of Los Angeles' divorce lawyers, Intolerable Cruelty is as cynical a rom-com as you'd ever expect to see, with Catherine Zeta Jones excelling as the professional gold-digger who eventually falls for divorce attorney Miles Massey, played with great comedic zest by the disgustingly good-looking AND talented George Clooney.
The script is packed with gems and repeated viewings are necessary to catch every little barb and quip. It is also rich with highly entertaining supporting roles by the likes of Geoffrey Rush, Richard Jenkins, Billy Bob Thornton, Cedric the Entertainer and Julia Duffy, not to forget Jonathan Hadary as the inimitable 'Heinz the Baron Krauss von Espy'. Personally I feel this is one of their most under-appreciated movies, I should know - I dismissed it myself when I first heard about it, but have since purchased the DVD and watch it whenever I need a belly laugh.
By the time Geoffrey Rush hoves into view in his open top Merc to the strains of Simon and Garfunkel I am already chuckling in anticipation of once again enjoying one of my all-time favourites.
Oh ye of little faith! If anything Intolerable Cruelty is one of the most enjoyable Coen flicks since Hudsucker Proxy. Set among the shark-infested waters of Los Angeles' divorce lawyers, Intolerable Cruelty is as cynical a rom-com as you'd ever expect to see, with Catherine Zeta Jones excelling as the professional gold-digger who eventually falls for divorce attorney Miles Massey, played with great comedic zest by the disgustingly good-looking AND talented George Clooney.
The script is packed with gems and repeated viewings are necessary to catch every little barb and quip. It is also rich with highly entertaining supporting roles by the likes of Geoffrey Rush, Richard Jenkins, Billy Bob Thornton, Cedric the Entertainer and Julia Duffy, not to forget Jonathan Hadary as the inimitable 'Heinz the Baron Krauss von Espy'. Personally I feel this is one of their most under-appreciated movies, I should know - I dismissed it myself when I first heard about it, but have since purchased the DVD and watch it whenever I need a belly laugh.
By the time Geoffrey Rush hoves into view in his open top Merc to the strains of Simon and Garfunkel I am already chuckling in anticipation of once again enjoying one of my all-time favourites.