A first viewing of Hail, Caesar!, the latest starry offering from acclaimed filmmaking brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, functions almost like a find-a-joke. That’s not to say that laughs are rare in this screwball satire, but rather that there are enough gags burrowed in the script and subtle quirks packed into the acting that strict attention must be paid to have any chance at catching everything.
As a follow-up to their 2013 Oscar-level drama Inside Llewyn Davis, Hail, Caesar! is the perfect change of pace. It has all the qualities of Coens’ comedy: their admiration for the strangeness of language, their fun with silence and, of course, a cast full of always-entertaining regulars. Josh Brolin leads the pack, starring as Eddie Mannix, a Hollywood fixer for Capital Pictures, a 1950s production company. Except this company has a problem: The star of their latest big-budget blockbuster, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) has been kidnapped by a group of men that simply call themselves “The Future.”
Ads for the film have touted its all-star cast, and it’s true that the treasures extend beyond Brolin and Clooney. Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton Frances McDormand and Jonah Hill all have small, serviceable roles — each one given a joke or two to fit their strengths. And Ralph Fiennes nearly steals the show as Laurence Laurentz, a director simply trying to make a prestige high-society film called Merrily We Dance.
Scenes like Fiennes’s showcase are the lifeblood of the movie, as the plot doesn’t necessarily play a central role. When the filmmakers get going on a good gag, they seem content to just let things carry on for a few more minutes, generating a good amount of laughs but serving no other real purpose.
The laughs that came about at the screening this critic attended seemed indicative of the mixed bag of comedy the movie offers. There’s something for everyone, and there are some things for mostly no one. Silences would occasionally be broken by a single person bursting out into laughter, recognizing and loving some joke that everyone else either didn’t notice or appreciate as much. At this point in the duo’s careers it’s clear that Coen comedy certainly isn’t for everyone, but an audience member that doesn’t let out a chuckle at least once in Hail, Caesar! should really think things through.
Those seeking substance beyond a laugh will not come up with much, however. The big-name cast means some nice acting and a little meta-comedy, but even the cameos can’t stop things from growing tired eventually. To sift through the Coens’ clever clutter for its multitude of jokes is certainly fun, but fun can’t last forever.
