Review of Intolerable Cruelty (2003) by Melvin W — 14 Aug 2013

Miles Massey: I saw an ad in the paper. "No-fault divorce. Two week divorce without a lawyer". Made me sick to my stomach. No-fault divorce.

"Engage the enemy.".

Intolerable Cruelty was one of the few Coen brother films I had yet to see. It's also one of their less popular ones and after watching it, I fail to see why. I guess I have affection for what is considered their lesser works such as this and The Hudsucker Proxy. All in all I thought this was an incredibly smart, well put together film that had all the Coen's wackiness in a different kind of setting. The movie is odd in about every sense. From scenes of crazy dramatic over the top-ness such as the court room scenes to bizarre supporting characters that yell such stuff as, "I just love trains(sexual innuendo possibly, haha)." .

Miles Massey is a divorce lawyer, and he's the best at what he does. He can win cases that he has no right to win just because he knows how the game works. On the other side of the fence is Marilyn, she's a devoted divorcee; meaning she finds rich men, marries them and divorces them for their money. The whole film is set in a lawyer/divorced couples setting, if that makes sense at all. What makes the whole thing go down perfectly is the Coen's ability to pull off all the brilliant wackiness that comes standard for them in a romantic comedy, albeit a Coen romantic comedy, which plays more like an anti-romantic, romantic comedy.

The acting was spot on as always with Coen's cast. Clooney is brilliant as Miles, and Catherine Zeta Jones is stunning, charming, and impressive as Marilyn. Cedric the Entertainer, Geoffrey Rush, and Billy Bob Thornton all pull off very interesting, but small supporting roles. .

Intolerable Cruelty is another Coen brothers film that I just fell in love with. It was brilliant fun from start to finish. Perfect, quick, intelligent dialogue, surrounded by incredible performances with direction and screenplay from two of the most original, creative, and brilliant filmmakers ever.... What the fuck isn't to like?