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 Plot is so fast paced I had no time to think. But I did laugh a lot. I loved it! Nov 11, 2009
I had never heard of this 2008 Coen Brothers comedy. If it did play the theaters it must have had a short run. And I don't remember publicity of any kind. But it was on cable TV and when it listed the cast of characters, I knew I had to see it.
First of all, there is Frances McDormand. I've loved her performances ever since I saw Fargo years ago. In this film she plays the role of an aging gym instructor who doesn't have enough money for the cosmetic surgery which she is sure will help her land a man. She's looking for love through the internet and the men she meets are all losers. Another gym instructor, and her friend, is Brad Pitt, playing the part of a rather dense golden haired trainer. One day they just happen to find a computer disk which looks like it has some secret CIA information on it. The disk actually belongs to John Malkovich, who has been fired from the CIA and is writing a book about his experiences. Whether the so-called secret information on the disk is actually real is always a question mark. Malkovich is married to Tilda Swinton, a thin society type who is having an affair with George Clooney. Clooney is quite a womanizer. Even though he thinks he is happily married, there are several women in his life. Frances McDormand becomes one of them.
The plot is so faced paced that I had no time to think. But I did laugh a lot. Every scene is stretched to its outrageous edge. There's gunplay and murder throughout and most of the characters meet their end in some serendipitously outrageous way. The conclusion is fun and satisfying even though most of the characters have been killed off.
I am not one for comedies. But I loved this one. Highly recommended.
 Just Fargo in DC Nov 04, 2009
This movie is little more than Fargo in DC. A collection of disfunctional, self-destructive misfits whose lives manage to cross in various ways. Thought the movie had potential, but after an hour it was clear where we were headed. We saw it all in Fargo. Did not care to see it again.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
A Quick Moving Tangle of a Farce of a Spy Spoof Oct 11, 2009
This is a convoluted action comedy with a fair amount of blood and gratuitous violence distributed through several dysfunctional romances and a plot on the part of a couple of physical-trainers to engage in international espionage. It is pretty funny. It goes around and around but I don't think anybody actually won. Several people in the story who are trying to figure it all out from the beginning through to the end are left scratching their heads, knowing everything that happened and still wondering what it was all about. Invite someone over, make popcorn.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 lightweight Coen fun Oct 03, 2009
The Coens have done better (their best days seem behind them -- see my review of "No Country for Old Men"), but "Burn After Reading" is still a clever and entertaining film.
It's not surprising so many viewers -- including too many reviewers, who ought to know better -- didn't like it, because it's little more than clever. As the brothers Coen admit, it was written specifically for some of their favorite actors, so you have to appreciate it on the level of an exercise in great acting.
Otherwise, there isn't much of a plot -- or a point. Just a bunch of foolish/dumb people getting into trouble. * This is also true of "The Big Lebowski", a much better, genuine-masterpiece film. Why it worked there and not here (just as "No Country for Old Men" failed to repeat the success of "Fargo", a virtually identical film) is not clear. **
Something should be said for Carter Burwell's excellent (and minimal) score. Though "Burn After Reading" is basically a "black-screwball" comedy, he scores it as a drama/suspense story. The main theme seems to be borrowed from "The Isle of the Dead", which seems appropriate.
If you're a Coen brothers fan, ignore the critics. You'll probably enjoy "Burn After Reading". But it's one of their lesser efforts.
PS: Am I the only viewer who noted that one of the victim's feet were splayed in a way that suggested the corpse of the Wicked Witch of the East?
* The issue of whether the Coens' tendency to portray human beings -- especially American human beings -- as fundamentally stupid will eventually be perceived as A Profound Comment on Society or self-serving elitism, is at least a decade or two away from being resolved.
** The reason is probably that "Fargo" and "Lebowski" had highly engaging central characters you got involved with.
Don't burn after watching Sep 23, 2009
Like "Fargo", the Coen Brothers' "Burn After Reading" is one of their occasional productions that combines farce with drama, with neither aspect compromising or diluting the other. While at first glance everyone here strongly defines themselves- in that very American way of looking at things- by their jobs (intelligence agent, gym employee, academic, etc.), the movie eventually makes it clear that we're all ultimately defined by our desires, lusts, and personal quirks. It's these latter aspects of the characters that make them pursue increasingly crazy, though sadly still quite believeable, actions.
Frances McDormand is particularly good, both hilarious and chilling, as the gym employee who will do absolutely anything, without a shred of guilt (or even awareness that she should at least CONSIDER feeling guilty), to secure the cosmetic surgery she desperately wants. Brad Pitt and George Clooney are terrific, too, with both again demonstrating some serious comic chops.
Both light and cutting, "Burn After Reading" is upper-tier Coen Brothers work and not to be missed. The movie looks super sharp on standard DVD and features a handful of interesting behind-the-scenes extras, including generous interview material with both Joel and Ethan Coen.
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