Popular reviews

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  Review by demi adejuyigbe ★★★★★ 22

  "Mr. Klein up to nine, Mrs. Dell, Personnel, Mr. Levin, thirty-seven."
  "Thirty-six."
  "WALK DOWN."

  Good lord! A movie so absolutely in my wheelhouse it feels like a tragedy to imagine I never saw it. Like a white, art deco Putney Swope. Jamelle perfectly described it as "Citizen Kane filtered through the Animaniacs." A wonderful, fantastical capitalist/corporate satire with a zillion quotable lines. If the Oscars properly recognized comedy, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tim Robbins would've gotten noms that year. JJL's fast-talking Rosalind Russell character is so sharp and funny and I'm astounded at how well and Tim Robbins plays a naive, upwards-failing buffoon. His physicality is perfect. Haven't laughed at anything in a while as hard as I laughed at Norville grunting his way into the Muncie song. And Paul Newman! God, what a trio. This one's a gem.

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  Review by matt lynch ★★★★½

  Time is a flat circle.

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  Review by Patrick Willems ★★★★ 8

  "And Paul Newman as Sidney J. Mussburger"

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  Review by SilentDawn ★★★★★ 8

  93

  The Hudsucker Proxy is a total treasure of Art-Deco styling and sappy absurdity. With the opening narration, the Coen brothers clue us into the cyclical narrative, with ruminations on time and capital, the rise and fall in the corporate jungle. This movie is about as quick-witted and visually memorable as any of the other classic Coen films, but I appreciate how, as tightly-wound as it is, there's an off-beat pleasure in exploring the boundaries of its physical comedy. There's a dance in here pulled straight from The Ladies Man! And the physicality and detail of the set-design is extraordinary. But of course, it wouldn't be a Coen brothers movie if I wasn't suddenly overwhelmed to the point of tears by the end. The climatic moment in The Hudsucker Proxy will do that to you.

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  Review by Jamelle Bouie ★★★★ 3

  Citizen Kane filtered through the Animaniacs with a strong Tim Burton circa Batman vibe. There are a lot of ideas about the banal inhumanity of capitalism and the absurdity of consumer culture that don't really go anywhere. That said, it is very funny and Jennifer Jason Leigh is a particular delight as the fast talking Hildy Johnson-esque reporter trying to get a scoop on Tim Robbins' Norville Barnes.

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  Review by russman ★★★ 6

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  Review by Will Sloan ★★★★½

  The Coen Brothers' biggest flop, and the movie that even many of their fans will look blankly and say "I don't think I know that one?" when you mention its hideous title. Too bad, because I love this movie. Not sure how you can be a fan of movies and not love its '20s/'30s/'40s/'50s mashup aesthetic; its three big, broad central performances; and that handsome, burnished Roger Deakins cinematography that so lovingly captures every pore and crevice in the gargoyle faces of the galaxy of character actors.

  Funny how it used to be axiomatic in critical circles that the Coens had contempt for, or at least a lot of ironic distance from, their characters. You can see it in the…

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  Review by The Reel House ★★★★

  Was this a great film ?………

  It was co-written by Sam “the man” Raimi. 

  I think that answers yours question. 

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  Review by matt lynch ★★★★½ 2

  "No, I think it more likely that you were a gazelle, with long, graceful legs, gamboling through the underbrush. Perhaps we met once, a chance encounter in a forest glade. I must have been an antelope or an ibex. What times we must have had. Foraging together for sustenance, snorfling water from a forest stream, picking the grubs and burrs from one another's coats. Or perhaps we simply touched our horns briefly and went our separate ways."

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  Review by Jizzmonkey ★★★★ 1

  After much exertion spent claiming compensation for accidentally chopping off my remaining little finger (and that was just the paperwork for the insurance, the civil lawsuit is up next and 1-900-HOTLAWYER has assured me that with a little money upfront she can get me big damages from the butter knife manufacturer), I thought it was time to relax, knock back some oxys, and review this movie. It's a humdinger. Snappy dialog. Great performances. Intellectualish. Well done, Coen sisters!

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  Review by Matthew Christman ★★★

  The Coens followed Barton Fink, which is partially a defense of formalism, with The Hudsucker Proxy, their most formalist exercise to that point. At times, Proxy feels like a parody of a Coen brothers film; ornately filigreed dialogue, deadpan shenanigans, nonexistent or ironic emotional content and smart-aleck mimicry. It's still a tremendously entertaining film, with some of the Coens' most inspired cinematography and wordplay, but at the end it amounts to little more than an extended riff on pre-war screwball comedy, right down to the font of the opening credits. Beyond the catchphrases and enjoyable mannered performances, what really lingers after watching The Hudsucker Proxy is the dread-inducing industrial hellscape of the Hudsucker industries mailroom, which has to stand as one of the most visceral depictions of the dehumanization of industrial relations put to film. Even if it is mostly a joke. You know...for kids.

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  Review by ScreeningNotes ★★★

  "You know, for kids!"

  Misunderstood period comedy from the Coen brothers which was panned on its release. While it's certainly not up to the standard set by the duo's other works, it's also much better than critics would have you believe. Great unity of visual composition (the shots of the Hudsucker board room and the mail room as well as the shot straight down the front of the building are all structurally identical), and Tim Robbins and Jennifer Jason Leigh are a delight.