Prenuptial agreements, high-paid attorneys, unorthodox private investigators and monetarily-motivated marriage are the ingredients for success in the new comedy "Intolerable Cruelty."
The film is the latest work from the writing, producing and directing team of Ethan and Hoel Coen. The brothers are responsible for the successful comedies "The Big Lebowski," "Raising Arizona" and "O Brother Where Art Thou?" as well as the Oscar-winning "Fargo."
Miles Massey (George Clooney) is a well-paid and successful Beverly Hills attorney. The story begins with his involvement in the divorce case of Marilyn Rexworth (Catherine Zeta-Jones) from her rich husband. It becomes clear early on in the film that Marilyn is part of a circle of friends in the habit of marrying men in order to become wealthy from divorce.
The tagline for "Intolerable Cruelty" reads "A romantic comedy with bite," like the Barq's Root Beer ads of days past. But while there is certainly enough bite to make this claim worthy, the movie does not exactly work under the romantic comedy category. This genre typically includes sappy relationship tales that are usually lacking in comedy.
The opposite is true for this film, though. The emphasis is much more on the comedy than the romance, doing an excellent job of making a complete joke out of the nature of marriage and divorce.
The slight bit of romance comes from the unlikely pairing of the star divorce attorney and the money thirsty Marilyn. From their first meeting in Massey's office, there is a noticeable chemistry between the two.
The cast is full of the unusual and comical side characters that can be expected from the Coens. Billy Bob Thornton plays an oil tycoon from Texas with an overdone southern accent, while Cedric the Entertainer plays the best of the supporting characters. He is a popular private investigator whose services are used several times through marriages and divorces of the movie.
Unlike most private investigators, there is nothing subtle or discreet about his tactics. At one point in the movie, he busts down the door to a motel room with a video camera and proceeds to tape the a pair of lovers, all while screaming "I'm gonna nail your a-!"
This comic moment and the act of tearing up a prenuptial agreement become two of the repeated jokes that are characteristic of the Coen brothers. There are also Coen-style scenes of extreme drama whose main objective is to produce not tears, but laughter.
"Intolerable Cruelty" is funny enough to live up to the Coen brothers' other successes. Unlike some of their other more offbeat works, this movie is a bit more mainstream.
Both Clooney and the Academy Award-winning Zeta-Jones give excellent performances. If these two actors are not typically associated with comedy, the truth is that while they are involved in some of the laughter, the majority of it comes from the ridiculously bizarre supporting characters.
MOVIE:\t\tOIntolerable CrueltyO
STARRING:\tGeorge Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones
DIRECTED BY:\tEthan and Joel Coen
GENRE:\t\tComedy
RATING:\t\tA-
SYNOPSIS:\tA Beverly Hills divorce lawyer (Clooney) and his clientOs gold digging ex-wife-to-be (Zeta-Jones) become romantically involved.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
