When it comes to The Coen Brothers, I’m a Big Lebowski/O Brother, Where Art Thou? kind of guy, not so much True Grit/Inside Llewyn Davis. Given their track record, everything they make is worth our attention, but given their extreme quirks not everything they make is going to be for everyone. Even in their lesser efforts, there will usually be some brilliant moments, such as George Clooney and Brad Pitt’s surprise confrontation in Burn After Reading.
I can’t tell where their next movie, Hail, Caesar!, will end up in their pantheon, but it looks like total nerd nirvana for someone like me. It’s set in the golden age of Hollywood (I’m always down for a movie about the movie biz), and stars George Clooney as a dimwitted A-list actor who is kidnapped during the production of a prestige picture. The kidnappers demand a ransom from the studio head (Josh Brolin), who has to keep the news away from the town’s gossip columnist (Tilda Swinton) and work around the obstacle with the film’s director (Ralph Fiennes), screenwriter (Frances McDormand) and co-stars (Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson). Jonah Hill is even around as someone Johansson’s characters has to seduce for some reason.
It’s an idea the Coens have been working on since 2004, and as if to lampshade their typical storytelling formula the trailer concludes with one of the kidnappers asking Clooney, “Wondering what’s going on?” Well, yeah, but that’s part of the fun.
Sadly, this won’t come out until Feb. 5, 2016. Are you punching the air in frustration over the long wait? Or could you not care less because this trailer is just too Coen Brothers-y for its own good? How dare you! It doesn’t have John Goodman for a change.
