Review of The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) by Gregory C — 16 Jul 2011

I'm on the fence about this one. I didn't really like it, but I didn't really not like it either. I am a fan of the Coen brothers, having enjoyed most of their movies immensely. This one was just too odd. It seemed that Joel really wasn't sure what he wanted this movie to be. The characters are all caricatures. There is little to no growth in any of them. The storyline is very predictable and really not that interesting. Paul Newman was fabulous as the "villain" of the piece, and though her accent drove me up the wall, I thought Jennifer Jason Leigh did a fine job with the role she had. Tim Robbins has never impressed me as a terrific actor, but he wasn't awful here. The singing angel, Charles Durning, was too much; the deus ex machina was seen coming a mile away (and I thought Amy Archer was going to find it when she looked in Norville's closet near the beginning of the movie). The movie is worth watching if you are a fan of the Coen's. If you are not familiar with their work, you might be better off watching something else of theirs first.

You wrote this on 2/20/09.