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Intolerable Cruelty Intolerable Cruelty
Directed by the Coen brothers, starring George Clooney and Catharine Zeta-Jones
Rated: PG-13

My rating: Well Worth the Watch

There's something about the way the Coen brothers do comedy that's just different. It's not mindless, Dumb-and-Dumber type humor, but it's also not P.G. Wodehouse-type stuff that leaves non-socialites wondering. It's a tone that they set, that permeates every frame of one of their movies. This movie was no exception.

They scored a big hit and revolutionized the music industry with O Brother, Where Art Thou? and so it's back to George Clooney they went, looking for more of the same. What happened? Could it be? Yes, it is... Clooney delivers Miles Massey, a character that shows definite growth as an actor for Clooney.

An IMDB reviewer remarked that they love the movie, found it flawless... but only laughed once. I'll have to say, I had a similar experience. I wasn't out in the floor like I was while watching Bruce Almighty, but still found the humor very appealing. Clooney's cartoonish acting what right on. Catharine Zeta-Jones playing, well, a sexy woman... was the perfect balance. She tortured him. He reacted like men do. It hit home with me (and apparently a lot of other men too) and the result was, not surprisingly, that we find the way we are funny.

I'm glad that the Coen brothers finally found their niche. They broke free from the narrow genres they used to hit with movies like Fargo and the Big Lebowski, and the stuff they're cranking out now is original and fresh. I'm excited to see what comes of it in the future. Oh, how fortunate! They're making another movie!

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