Intolerable Cruelty

Universal | minutes | | | Standard DVD reviewed by: Matt Brighton

Screwball comedies don’t exactly come into focus when you think of Joel and Ethan Coen. Then again, they’re the masterminds behind “Raising Arizona”, “The Big Lebowski” and their latest effort – “Intolerable Cruelty”. Just looking at the cover, we’re reminded of Cary Grant and any one of his leading ladies over the years. But then again, this is a rather mainstream (commercial) effort from the Brothers Coen, and is there a reason why it wasn’t so beloved by audiences and critics? No, not really. I’ll be the first to admit that their movies polarize viewers and I, for one, have hated most of them upon my first viewing. Then…something happens. I watch them again (“Fargo”, “O Brother Where art Thou”) and I start to pick up the little things. Yes, I start to admire and respect their work and when I popped in the movie, I laughed myself silly. Now why is this? First of all, we have to realize and/or accept that George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones (Douglas) are two of the most beautiful faces to have ever graced the silvers screen. Once we have that behind us, we can get on to interpreting the story and laughing at what’s happening on the screen. And, trust me folks, there’s plenty…

Clooney plays a divorce attorney by the name of Miles Massey, he’s the best at what he does and what he does is get his clients money. Consider that one of his clients has been caught with the pool boy, granted they have no pool, but with Miles’ help; she becomes rich while he (Geoffrey Rush) is relegated to the streets clutching his only award. When Rex Rexroth (Edward Hermann) is caught in a hotel room with a bimbo, Gus (Cedric the Entertainer) certainly “Nails his ass”. Rex retains the services of Miles against his wife, Marilyn (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and comes away a winner, not having to give a cent to the “real” victim. This takes a backseat, though, because from first glance Miles is absolutely smitten with Marilyn (and, we’re led to believe, vice-versa). Some time passes and Marilyn has now fallen in love again and is set to marry a Texas oil billionaire (Billy Bob Thornton). They wish to sign a “Massey Prenup” as a sign of their love. The “Massey Prenup” is so ironclad that is has never been penetrated “…they devote a semester tudying it at Harvard.” Massey states. With this, Miles is shattered and its no sooner than he’s given up on Marilyn than his hope is renewed when he sees Howard (Thornton) literally eat it, with Bar-B-Q sauce, at their wedding. From then on, Miles knows what game Marilyn is playing and wants nothing but her…and only her.

As you might have guessed, there’s a lot of “back and forth” in this latest installment from the Coen Brothers. Miles and Marilyn are two people that have everything – money, power, looks; but what’s missing is that they don’t have anyone or anything to share it with. Could those two people who we see on screen be each other? Who knows? The movie was criticized for being too “mainstream” for the likes of the brothers. George Clooney long ago shed away his “Batman” roles in search of more artistic parts and this had made me one of his biggest fans. Catherine Zeta-Jones, on the other hand, won an Oscar for her work in “Chicago” and has been biding her time in some lesser roles for some time now. Who’s the bigger star? Who cares. Seeing these two on screen is excitement enough and seeing them both play their respective roles six inches off the ground makes it all the more fun to watch. I loved the movie and though I’m sure everyone out there won’t agree with me, I think it’s one of their better films (Coen Brothers) to date. Fans of any of the actors or anyone involved with the movie or just wanting to be entertained for a couple of hours are well-advised to view this ASAP.

Shown in a 1.85:1 anamorphic image, “Intolerable Cruelty” looks a bit on the weak side when it comes to day and date DVD releases. The image has some grain to it and some, if not all, of the scenes tend to have some oversaturation to them. The lighting used seems to drown out the action on the screen and cast shadows on the actors’ faces. I liken this to the movies of the 1970’s, whereas you can tell that the movie has a dated look to it. This isn’t a huge problem as you’re caught up in the action on the screen, but for a newer movie I wasn’t too impressed. To balance out the transfer, there are an equal amount of scenes that look almost perfect, with no edge enhancement or any other blemish of any kind. Maybe I was expecting more and impressed less with the good scenes and it’s only a few bad scenes that are influencing my score. Still, I’d expect more for such a recent movie and I just don’t think Universal has delivered here.

Like most of the films by the Coen Brothers, audio isn’t something that they rely too heavily on. There are dual DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks and no matter which one you pick, it’ll sound just fine. Dialogue is very clear and you must listen carefully or you’ll miss out some important things! The surrounds are only used a few times and they aren’t of any significance, though most of the action is limited to the front three channels. I’d have to give the edge to the DTS track over its Dolby Digital counterpart, but not by much. As mentioned before, either one you pick will suffice; just don’t plan to be blown away by the audio.

Though not sporting a lot of extras, there are a few of note. There is a feature on the Wardrobe, how Clooney’s outfits were inspired by Cary Grant (real shocker there) in “Indiscreet” and how Catherine Zeta Jones had to look stunning in most every scene she was in (not a challenge there, either). There is a featurette on the making of the film, featuring interviews with Brian Grazer (Producer) and the Coen Brothers as well as some stars from the film. This is your standard “Making Of…” featurette, but it’s nice to have it included on the disc. There are also some “Director Approved” outtakes, divided into sections one with Clooney, one with Zeta-Jones, one with Paul Adelstein (Miles’ trusty sidekick throughout the movie). These tend to get a bit old, but there are some funny parts. It does give you new respect for how many times a scene is shot for them to get that “right one”. Or does it? Lastly, some DVD-ROM material is included as are some text-based Cast Bios.