Review of Hail, Caesar! (2016) by Xander K — 20 Dec 2016

The Coen Brothers' latest film is a wacky, bewildering trip through time that is too quirky and fun to dismiss, but too erratic to offer a story of any consequence. Hail, Caesar is a remarkably whimsical tribute to vintage Hollywood, capturing the easy charm and grand nature of that era. It revels in the plights of its dim-witted, philandering movie stars and the incredibly colorful and immaculate movie sets that the film wanders through. The majestic, mammoth scenes of the Ancient Roman army, the Sailors' destructive dance display in the bar (reminiscent of a Gene Kelly film), Scarlett Johansson's synchronized swimming and the Western star's first turn at a drama were beautifully imagined moments that captured the nostalgic appeal of old Hollywood films and infused them with this film's silly energy. I almost felt like this story was a weak excuse for the Coen Brothers to string together these few scenes.

It is a fun and jolly affair, mostly because of the charm of its talented cast. Josh Brolin leads with a quirky, engaging performance that's embellished with the efforts of Clooney, Johannsson, the Cowboy, Channing Tatum and Ralph Fiennes. But even they can't hold this weightless story aloft. It has no gravity or ambition. It's clever, packed a lot of witty and ironic humor, but there's no theme or meaning behind any of it. The plot is largely ridiculous and harmless as it centers around Baird Whitlock being kidnapped by communist sympathizers, held for ransom and eventually saved by a fellow star. While the studio deals with the kidnapping, they're also harassed by the news with the threat of revealing a disturbing story about their lead actor, but the newspaper's source eventually defects to Russia. It's a strange string of events and just about the only tangible, believable part of this film is Josh Brolin's character and his personal struggle. He has to decide whether he wants to stay and deal with the madness of the movie industry or leave, which is a mildly engaging diversion, but the film has little substance. It's mostly a sweet, stylish, but ultimately hollow homage to 1950's Hollywood.