Let the procrastination begin!

I should probably be finishing up my applications but I've already deemed today to be Lazy Thursday. I know what you're thinking, today is Friday. And that's just how lazy I was yesterday, I couldn't even finish my blog post. Man, I can be lazy.

Unfortunately I did pay a price for this by losing 2 hours of my life to the cinematic void that is the Coen Brothers' INTOLERABLE CRUELTY. And I'll be the first to admit that I can (and have) wasted 2 hours surfing the IMDb or Wikipedia or ESPN.com. So it's not really the 2 hours, but that I had to sit through such an intolerably cruel incessantly despicable movie.

Where to start with the craptacular that is INTOLERABLE CRUELTY. Well there is the title which is clearly a warning. The characters are thin and flimsy like cardboard. I guess they're supposed to be farcical cartoons from the cynical world of Coen-land, but they're simplistic, unsympathetic egomaniacs (even for a Coens flick). Since the Coens are involved, one would think the dialogue would be crackling, original, and funny. Far from it, unfortunately. If it's not a cliched, lame joke about lawyers then it's one about gold diggers. I imagine this is a Coens exercise in the romantic comedy genre. The problem is who wants to sit through this exercise of vapid, vain characters and empty, mindless dialogue. On top of this the rom-com elements are as absurd and annoying. I have no clue what the Coens' intent was in making such a terrible mess, other than their smart-alecky try at a bad SNL skit which goes on way too long and gets infinitely worse along the way.

This brings up the Coen Brothers in general. What do you people think about their flicks? I saw BARTON FINK and FARGO a good time ago and initially found them to be funny, idiosyncratic, original, and clever. But looking back on them after viewing a world of truly artful, poignant films, I'm not sure I can say the same about the work of the Coen Brothers (at least the work I've seen). After first viewing their work, I surfed the internet for a few reviews, like I usually do, and was surprised to see Jonathan Rosenbaum (film critic of the Chicago Reader) pan them a bit. But today I have to admit I feel he is mostly right. Rosenbaum is right to point out that there's a condescending bent to most of their work which intertwines with their penchant for smarm. They deal a lot in sick, demented, inept, foolish characters, and perhaps that is how they see people. There's also a forced ambiguity in their flicks (certainly BARTON FINK) that tries to mask itself as deep meaning.

That being said, I remember THE BIG LEBOWSKI being clever and impressive, if a bit meandering and forcedly ambiguious. I also enjoyed O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? though perhaps it was the enchanting music. For whatever it is worth, Rosenbaum found LEBOWSKI to be their best effort while calling O BROTHER "a piece of pop nihilism" and their worst.

In any case, I'm just curious to see what everyone else's take is on the work of the Coen Brothers.

And, once again, stay away from INTOLERABLE CRUELTY.