Review of Hail, Caesar! (2016) by Patrick L — 07 May 2016

"Joel and Ethan Coen's "Hail, Caesar!" is a funny and charming love letter to 1950's moviemaking".

Movie Review: Hail, Caesar!

Date Viewed: February 22 2016.

Written and Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (Fargo, No Country for Old Men, Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Burn After Reading, The Big Lebowski, A Serious Man and True Grit).

Starring: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden.

Ehrenreich, Scarlett Johansson, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Channing Tatum.

Hollywood maybe now a punching bag for us critics due to lack of originality but the Coen brothers have revisited classic movies with their new Hollywood satire "Hail, Caesar!". It may not be one of their best but it's a funny and charming love letter to 1950's moviemaking. In addition, to lovely costumes and fabulous sets, "Hail, Caesar!" has a terrific ensemble cast. Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and rising newcomer Alden Ehrenreich lead the way in this giddy, screwball comedy.

Brolin plays Eddie Mannix, a studio head and Hollywood fixer-upper who cleans up the reputation of his company and keeping his big name stars away from scrutiny, tabloids and controversy. Capital Pictures' major studio production is Hail, Caesar!, an ancient Rome epic that stars handsome leading man Baird Whitlock (George Clooney). Meanwhile,.

Movie director Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes) wants Western film star Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich) removed from his period drama because he can't give a good performance.

Also, unmarried swimming actress DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson) becomes pregnant and Mannix wants her to put the baby in foster care and adopt it without having anyone know she's the mother. Soon, Mannix gets a call from a group communists who claim to have kidnapped Baird Whitlock and they demand a huge ransom. As Mannix gathers the cash, Whitlock finds himself in a beach house with a communist group calling itself "The Future", the group's members are mostly film writers and they explain their doctrine to Whitlock who begins to like their cause.

The movie also stars Channing Tatum as a young leading man in a sailor comedy who performs a nice dancing sequence and Tilda Swinton in a dual role as feuding twin sister gossip columnists.

"Hail, Caesar!" is a hilarious take on Hollywood's Golden Age, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (Fargo, Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man, The Big Lebowski, True Grit) have made a wildly entertaining show biz satire. Smart and quirky movies like this are the reason why the Coen brothers are still on the top of their game.

"Hail, Caesar!" is a lovely tribute to classic filmmaking from six decades ago.