“Intolerable Cruelty” is an unfortunate misfire
Two big stars, a great filmmaking duo and a promising-looking
trailer sounds like a surefire recipe for success, but somehow
“Intolerable Cruelty” still manages to be somewhat of a failure. It
is not a horrible film, yet it should have been so much better.
The film was made by the Coen brothers, who are responsible for
making fantastic films such as “Fargo,” “O Brother Where Art
Though” and “The Big Lebowski.” “Intolerable Cruelty” marks their
first foray into romantic comedy, and somehow it far from measures
up to their previous triumphs. Those other films were comedy
classics, whereas the comedy here seems bumbling and desperate.
George Clooney stars as Miles Massey, a successful divorce
attorney who finds himself falling for a money-hungry divorcee
played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. The two stars look great together
and that fact is pretty much the best thing the movie has going for
it. Zeta-Jones appears to actually be getting even hotter with age
and Clooney has charisma to spare.
What went wrong I am not sure, but scenes involving Miles’
elderly, handicapped senior partner with a colostomy bag definitely
didn’t help matters any.
The film does manage to provide a few quality moments from time
to time, especially a scene involving an asthma inhaler and a gun,
but there is not enough of them to save the film. Because the film
has such an impressive pedigree, it is very disappointing. It is
unfortunate to see a film with so much potential fail to live up to
it.
2 out of 4 rams
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