Review of Intolerable Cruelty (2003) by Abel G — 09 Oct 2009

A somewhat dark romantic comedy with screenplay by the Coen brothers. The first half or so of the film is near brilliant with some styling of older rom-coms; by that I mean dialog with real brains and good writing, good pace, not the swill we are fed these days.

I found the second half of the movie somewhat less lively and intriguing as the first half but it didnâ??t destroy it. Clooney carries his role real well. Zeta-Jones seemed a little too formulaic for the script but still did a passable job.

Fans of the Coens will like the film because it is mostly true to their dark sense of humor and worldview. I read another review that said the movie was about dating. Only in part. Itâ??s about marriage and how some of us get there and thatâ??s not only about dating. Itâ??s also about divorce and the situations of divorce in the movie contain some emotional realism which I appreciated.

I had some issues with casting; like, what is Billy Bob Thornton doing in this movie? He brought next to nothing to it which is part of my problem with the second half of the movie. I still donâ??t like heavy-handed sexual material in rom-coms and just because I like the Coens doesnâ??t mean I give them a pass. The movie has its share of unsubtle sexual material but nothing graphic.

That still wasnâ??t enough to kill it for me. Good movie.