It began, in my mind, with "O Brother, Where Art Thou" this change in the Coen
brothers. It's a stylized look that seems to be becoming their trademark, and I
for one, wish it wasn't. The Ladykillers, the newest comedy from the Coen mind
concerns a collection of caricatures that meet in the basement of the home of an
elderly lady. Disguised as musicians, the group's plan is to dig a tunnel into
the vault of the riverboat casino and make off with the loot.
For me, the movie limps. Tom Hanks leads the crew and the stumbling. While he
is quite delightful as the affected would-be music professor, we never lose sight
of the fact that it is Tom Hanks in a very mannered performance. Each aspect of
his delivery, his costume, demeanor, costume, and make-up only enhance that we
never lose sight of the fact that this man is acting.
Similarly, J.K.Simmons, as the munitions expert Garth Pancake, suffers from
camera angles and movements that ensure the audience understand this man is a
fool. Then there are three highly offensive stereotypes--typical Coen brothers,
taking something to the edge and then hurling it over--there's the Asian, Tzi Ma
as the General who takes no prisoners, Ryan Hurst as Lump, the stupid white
athlete, and Marlon Wayans, as the mouthy African American who, it would seem,
uses obscenities more often than he breathes.
Then there's Irma P. Hall as Marva Munson, the exquisite straight woman and owner
of the house. As the lady of the title, it would seem she is to be killed. Or is
she? She, too, has her gaggle of stereotypes, although her role as the foil
requires the audience to think of her as straight.
From this motley crew come occasional funny moments, but they are edgy, dark, and
rare, mostly overshadowed by the stylization of the acting and filming. Now, I'm
a Coen brothers' fan. I like that nothing is reverent to them. But The
Ladykillers reminds me a lot of Intolerable Cruelty, when I'd much rather be
reminded of Fargo.
Overall, I thought Ladykillers was a particularly slow way to spend 104 minutes.
Still, since I was under-whelmed by the on-screen entertainment, I instead
enjoyed watching the tight-lipped, crossed-armed Tom Hanks fans that obviously
came expecting a milquetoast comedy like Sleepless in Seattle. They had less fun
that I did.
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