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The
Coen brothers never cease to amaze me with their wacky and just plain unusual films.
This remake of the 1950s classic places Tom Hanks at the helm of a mismatched group of
criminals. Hanks plays Professor G.H. Dorr, Ph.D., an intellectual Southern gentleman
who gathers a team of stereotypical criminals (the muscle, the inside man…) to rob a
casino riverboat. To do so, he rents a room in the home of sweet, unsuspecting old Marva
Munson (Irma P. Hall) and plans to tunnel from Mrs. Munson’s basement into the casino’s
secret underground vault. In order to cover up their plot, they pose as Renaissance
musicians who practice religiously in the basement.
The Ladykillers
definitely isn’t my favorite Coen brothers film (I think I’d have to reserve that honor
for Raising
Arizona). But despite the fact that it’s a remake, it’s still totally Coen
brothers. The characters are wonderfully overdone (like the eccentric Professor Dorr,
who looks more like an old Civil War-time plantation owner than a twenty-first century
college professor). Tom Hanks does an excellent job in his quirky role, and the rest of
the cast plays right along—though Marlon Wayans’s crude and not-so-bright character
becomes pretty annoying after a while. The characters, their instruments, their
actions…it’s all just pleasingly peculiar—exactly what you’d expect from the Coen
brothers.
The Ladykillers has a laid-back, relaxed pace that fits
perfectly with its Southern setting, but that means it’s not as fast-paced and
action-packed (or as outrageously hilarious) as you might expect. At times, I’ll admit
that I found it to be a bit slow. Still, it’s unlike anything else that you’ll see in
theaters (or on the shelves at your local video store) these days (except, perhaps, for
other Coen brothers movies), and that makes it well worth checking out. And when the
movie’s over, don’t take the DVD out of the player without watching the “Slap Reel”—which
is just one big, long, side-splitting sequence of Irma P. Hall repeatedly smacking Marlon
Wayans upside the head.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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