The Ladykillers (2004)

The Coen's attempt to recover from the disaster that was Intolerable Cruelty by jabbing at the 1955 black comedy by Alexander Mackendrick resulted in what I believe to be their worst movie.Tom Hanks plays a charming Southern professor who rents a room from landlady Marva Munson, (Irma P. Hall) who isn't aware of him and his crew's plan to rob a casino underground right under her nose. But they aren't quite aware of just how observant she is.This film is so awkward, which I understand was a main intention, but awkward in an annoying way. Casting Tom Hanks, Tzi Ma, and JK Simmons is one thing, but casting Marlon Wayans in an adaptation of this classic? Cmon! Not even the good actors can save it. J.K. Simmons is completely suppressed and annoying, Tzi Ma just says nothing and eats cigarettes all day, and Tom Hanks in his possible worst performance ever snickers and snorts like a pig five different times, as if it's supposed to be an interesting trait of his.The tone is very off putting. It's a goofy light comedy with cheesy, fake characters, while at the same time having people getting blown up and hung. It's all over the place. Erma Hall as the landlady is very entertaining in her scenes and very commanding in her role, which I enjoyed quite a bit. Unfortunately, we don't get much of her. Instead we get forced humor with repetitive gags. To be fair, I wasn't expecting this to be good, but I wasn't expecting to hate it this much. The moment Marlon Wayans robs a store and gets lifted up by his nostrils, I just wanted to cry. The scene where J.K. Simmons blows himself up while testing an explosive on the wall was actually a pretty fun scene to see the house shake from the outside, until we see he loses nothing but a finger in that huge explosion. I know it's a comedy, but in a film like this, suspension of disbelief doesn't apply.Overall, this film is atrocious, not just for a Coen's film, just in general. I'm glad this is as bad as it gets for them because if it got worse, then I'd question their motives.

Tom Hanks took on a role left untouchable by Alec Guiness. (A quote from a place I can no longer find.) If you haven't seen the 1955 version, please do. For this to have been taken on by the Coen brothers too..... My goodness, the hubris. 1955 has Alec Guiness, Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Frankie Howerd, Jack Warner and Kenneth Connor. How on earth anyone is giving the 2004 version 6.1 stars is just nuts. Please, please, please, please, watch the 1955 original. And for anyone else out there with similar plans, only broach the idea of a remake if you can actually make it better. If you can't, don't. And as for Hanks as a 'great actor' which I've repeatedly seen written, watch 'Big' a few times and then try telling me that. OK, that's unfair, but seriously this remake is just horrible and awful and dreadful.

This is one of the Coen Bros movies that always gets passed by or put down though honestly I don't know why. The characters are sharply drawn and while at times nearly slap-stick-like, they are still hilarious. Irma Hall as Marva Munson is just priceless ... having done yard work for many older widows when I was young, she is not too far from many of the ladies I worked for ("You don't want to be tested and found wanting" just cracked me up as I had heard it and many other Biblical quips from these women - some that I probably should have heeded far more often) ... they were dear sweet ladies but they were not to be trifled with on any level. Gives me a smile to think of them still, however, as they were so devoted to their god. Her "bitch slapping" of Marlon Wayons character for using "hippity-hoppity" language in her "Christian home" is an accurate portrayal of the ladies I knew when you took the Lord's name in vain.The other characters are just as funny. Tom Hanks' portrayal of the Southern professor gives the academic man a very nice old-time feeling and his continual, literary line of b.s. won't fail to bring a smile to your face while Tzi Ma's character, "The General", handles a couple of would-be robbers in a way we would all hope to and one that leaves the criminals wanting to be sure. J.K. Simmons (best known for his recent role in TV's "The Closer") character's ("Garth Pancake") sincere and continuous explanations of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS, or as Marlon Wayons asks, "You be what?") and his devotion to Mountain Girl are quite funny and sweet in a very odd way.But oddity is the watchword of these characters. They are all misfits yet all fit as a unit, give or take for a time or two. Of course, as you watch the film you'll start to notice that their numbers dwindle slow and sure as greed and opportunity allow one after the other to be eliminated.Wayons, as some have mentioned, probably is the weak link in this thespian ensemble. He simply doesn't have the skill set the other more experienced actors have but he does what he does to the best of his ability (having seen him in other movies this is his best by far -- Damon is the most talented of the brothers no doubt about it). Ryan Hurst is s surprise as the nearly-mentally numb Lump ... look back at his list of roles and you'll see he really can do much more than stand with his eyes vacuous while all air intake is done so through his gaped maw. As the old saying goes in acting circles, "You have to be smart to play dumb" and I'll say it applies to his performance.The Coen Bros also capture the Baptist (or perhaps the generic "black") church service perfectly. Having been a fan of the black gospel experience (the service, the sermonical delivery, and especially the music), it is a faithful and sweet portrayal of the small church experience and brings back many good memories. Indeed, the music of the movie is one of the best aspects of the movie. From the "Ink Spots"-sound of the song played over the opening credits and Mrs. Munson's original complaint to delightfully-lazy Sheriff Wyner (played deftly by George Wallace who accomplishes the perfect pitch of his character by very nearly using only his eyes) to the church service to even the rap "music" played blends perfectly with each scene it is chosen to accompany.This is one of the forgotten Ceon Bros efforts but take the time and you'll be rewarded.

The Coen brothers have had an extraordinary career carving out their own niche beyond Hollywood's borders in Indieville. Gems like "Fargo" and "The Big Lebowski" remain eminently watchable but not what you'd call mainstream. So a remake of a much-loved Ealing comedy might have seemed like a safe bet to the brothers but alas, the gentle charm and innocence of the original has been lost in a whirlwind of cartoony performances and a barrage of four-letter words.Sleazy oddball charmer G.H. Dorr (Tom Hanks) answers the advertisement for a room to let at the home of Southern widower Marva Munson (Irma P Hall). He explains that he and his fellow musicians need somewhere quiet to practise and Marva's basement provides him with the ideal location. But Dorr's interests lie not with the arts but with the cash deposits stored in a nearby underground vault by a floating casino. Dorr and his various accomplices (Marlon Wayans, J K Simmons, Tzi Ma and Ryan Hurst) begin tunnelling their way to ill-gotten wealth but when their scheme is discovered by Marva, they soon decide that one of them has to silence the old lady for good...Despite the wave of criticism, there is much to like about "The Ladykillers". The gospel music provides a real boost, infusing the picture with an energy that the plot itself lacks. Performances are also top-draw - Hanks is certainly memorable as Dorr but he is upstaged by genuinely funny turns by Simmons and Wayans, who I normally can't stand. Hall, for my money, is the film's MVP as she provides a warm, homely centre for the movie but one with a steely exterior when the situation demands it - much like Katie Johnson did in the original. There are also several laugh-out-loud moments of subtle comedy that work, rather than the usual attempts of going overboard by Hollywood films. However, there are problems - pacing is dreadfully slow and the film's reluctance to differ too much from the original merely highlights a lack of imagination from the Coens. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but what benefit is there in remaking a perfectly good film for modern movie-goers? Did it do Gus Van Sant any good remaking "Psycho"? There are other flaws as well. While Wayans is much funnier than normal, his constant swearing jars wildly with the old-world charm of the film in general and he simply doesn't fit in. There is also a sense that the film thinks its funnier than it actually is - Hanks' performance is good but too much for the role, the opposite of Alec Guinness' performance which was understated and much funnier. The whole film is filled with clichéd characters like the choir master who looks like a young Little Richard and farcical scenarios that simply wouldn't happen. In short, none of it feels real which was what made "Fargo" so good in the first place. However, I'm not going to mark a film down just because it is a remake. There are laughs to be had here, although fans of the Coens will be disappointed with "The Ladykillers". But would I watch it again or hunt down the DVD like I did with the 1955 version? Nope.