See it at the Movies

HAIL, CAESAR!

with Joyce & Don Fowler
Posted 2/12/16

* * * *

(Spoof on Hollywood, religion, politics)

The Coen Brothers have come up with a tongue-in-cheek look at Hollywood in its glory days, throwing in spoofs on religion, politics and anything …

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See it at the Movies

HAIL, CAESAR!

Posted

* * * *

(Spoof on Hollywood, religion, politics)

The Coen Brothers have come up with a tongue-in-cheek look at Hollywood in its glory days, throwing in spoofs on religion, politics and anything else that gets in their way. Movie buffs, especially those of us who love the old classics, should enjoy the satire. I must admit that four of our younger friends and relatives didn’t like the movie (or didn’t get it.)

Josh Brolin plays Eddie Mannix, the Hollywood producer at Capitol Pictures who is faced with egotistical and incompetent actors who keep him jumping from one crisis to another. A hysterically funny George Clooney plays Baird Whitlock, his leading actor in a biblical epic, “Hail Caesar,” who is kidnapped by a bunch of Communist sympathizers who come close to succeeding to brainwash him.

Meanwhile, there are all sorts of things going on that require Mannix’s attention. Alden Ehreneich plays a cowboy star who is given a part in a historical drama that turns out to be hysterical as his director (Ralph Fiennes) unsuccessfully tries to convert him to a serious role. And then there’s Scarlett Johansson as an Esther Williams clone with a voice that would crack a mirror. Tilda Swinton plays gossip columnist twins who fight each other for the “big story.” Channing Tatum shows up as a singer/dancer in an old Busby/Berkley type musical number and then reappears as the leader of “The Future,” the radical group that kidnapped Baird Whitlock.

If all this sounds a bit crazy, it is, but it all comes together to make one of the funniest spoofs we’ve seen in a long time.

There’s a scene where Mannix meets with religious leaders in a focus group to make sure that the film won’t offend them. The holier-than-thou men start arguing religion among themselves with laugh-out-loud results. And wait until you see Clooney’s closing speech in the movie.

“Hail Caesar” may not be for everyone, but it sure was for us. Rated  PG-13, with minor profanity, but the young ones won’t get a lot of the humor.

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