Review of The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) by Stephen M — 06 Jan 2009

The Coen Brothers' tribute to '30s screwball comedies and '50s consumer faddism. When the president of Hudsucker Industries jumps off the 44th floor, the board of directors seeks to appoint an 'imbecile' as his replacement. The intention: to devalue their dearly departed founder's soon-to-be floated stock and snap it up themselves, for peanuts. Tim Robbins' ambitious innocent appears to fit the bill perfectly, but the board's plan goes awry when its puppet president's vanity project, the 'Hula Hoop', becomes a runaway success.

Jennifer Jason Leigh's hard-boiled newshound and Robbins' good-natured patsy with a penchant for jumping off buildings immediately bring to mind Capra's Meet John Doe, but I found myself fondly recalling a host of other comedies along the way; everything from His Girl Friday to The Producers. Charles Durning's reappearance as a ukulele playing angel just about cancelled out my misgivings about the movie tipping over into outright fantasy toward the end. Not a great critical favourite, I actually prefer The Hudsucker Proxy to some of the Coens' acknowledged masterworks, perhaps because, besides all the trademark wordplay and boundless invention, this one's almost got a heart... almost!