Coen Brothers don’t hit a home run, but they get on base.

If I worked at a gym, I would probably get involved in some crazy spy stuff too.


Coen brothers, John Malkovich, Brad Pitt, Francis McDermont, George Clooney; all these people could build a fair amount of hype. Luckily I had tempered my expectations and walked into the theater, not expecting to be wowed, but hoping to enjoy myself. I was pleased with what I got out of “Burn After Reading”. It was quirky, it was a morality tale, it was what one should expect from this kind of Coen Brother’s film.

I enjoyed watching characters that seemed outlandish and believable at the same time. Clooney is right in his zone when he takes on these roles and this was no exception. Malkovich was just angry the whole time which was undoubtedly fun to watch but didn’t wow me. Francis McDormand had hints of her character from Fargo in this film. Her motivation was to get multiple plastic surgeries to look slightly better. That would usually be obnoxious but as a credit to her talent, it came across endearing in this film.

Brad Pitt stole the show for me, my only disappointment was that he hasn’t been in more of the Coen Brother’s films. He is underrated as a comedic actor, even his guest spots on friends make me laugh just thinking about it. No one doubts his ability to pull of the occasional laugh but this movie showed his range. Just watching him process his harebrained idea made me want to rewind in the theater.

Now as a whole this movie wasn’t fabulous. I find with Coen Brother’s films, the first viewing doesn’t do it justice, they grow on you. Case and point, the first time I saw Lebowski I thought it was kind of funny. So, I will give it another shot on DVD. It felt like it dragged at times but with that when we got to the conclusion I was just plain happy. It was definitely fulfilling for me. So if you are a fan of Joel and Ethan, then catch this in the theater while you can. If not, then its worth going with friends or seeing it at home in a few months. The later category won’t love it, but I think they’ll be entertained. And that’s the idea, right? Not everything has to be “No Country for Old Men 2- Electric Boogaloo”