Review of Intolerable Cruelty (2003) by Davey M — 02 Mar 2008

A movie wherein the sum of its parts is so much better than the whole. The Coens typically set up genre expectations in order to smartly subvert them--but sometimes they forget to, and buy into the sentiment.

That's not necessarily a complaint--it's a very sweet movie a lot of the time, and I'm glad--but moments like Clooney's disconcertingly typical speech about the power of love to a group of divorce attorneys (followed by the slow claps as he exits, and the standing, cheering ovation), while unusually sincere, felt oddly out of place.

Still, if things don't really gel, that's forgivable, because (even ungelled) there's great stuff going on here. Clooney and Zeta-Jones are great on their own, and together their chemistry sizzles.

Geoffrey Rush is always a joy to behold. The use of music--particularly Simon and Garfunkel--is unbelievably clever. Billy Bob Thornton eating paper dipped in barbecue sauce and shouting "I love you like a sunuvabitch!" is just about the best thing you'll ever see.

And maybe it's a good thing the Coens get a little conventional on us--ultimately, Clooney's totally sincere schoolboy-in-love is a remarkable breath of fresh air after the initial, almost unbearable cynicism about romance, marriage, and sex.