This was way cuter than I thought it was going to be. Christy actually gave me her DVD because she didn't like it so I didn't have very high hopes.Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is a fixer for Capitol Pictures who is contemplating a job switch to Lockheed. While he's considering, one of the studio's biggest stars, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), is kidnapped from the set of their prestige picture, Hail, Caesar!. Eddie has to manage the disappearance and ransom demands, as well as deal with a knocked up, unmarried starlet (Scarlett Johansson), twin rival gossip columnists (Tilda Swinton), an angry director (Ralph Fiennes), and an up-and-coming star desperately in need of an image change (Alden Ehrenreich). All in a day's work.
This is a love letter to Hollywood of the 1950s, a time of lavish musicals and Biblical epics, along with the constant specter of Communism and nuclear annihilation. Your familiarity with any and all of these topics may or may not affect your enjoyment of the movie. I thought it was super cute and actually redeemed Channing Tatum nearly 100%.
Nearly. I'm not ready to forgive Magic Mike XXL yet.
The production design is excellent. Every set looks time appropriate, the costumes are beautiful, and even the lighting is perfectly in character. I'm a little surprised this didn't get more recognition since the Academy loves the Coen Brothers. Any other year and they'd be good for a Best Original Screenplay nomination at least. There must be some seriously stiff competition this year. I don't know if I could even compare this to Fantastic Beasts, which is the only other nominee in the Production Design category I've seen so far. They're like apples and oranges.
I didn't see this...current spouse HATES George Clooney. But, I'll add it to my list for later viewing. I generally like the Coen Bros. O Brother, Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, all classics in one way or another.
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