Wolff rating: GOOD
Plot summary: Drugged out hippie has the same name as a millionaire and finds himself acting as a sort of anti-gumshoe trying to ignore a mystery that keeps attacking him.
Biased, pithy comments: I was troubled by this movie. Like most Coen brothers films, this was cleverly shot and had some side-splittingly funny moments along with heaping doses of irony. At the same time, the metaphorical structure of the film (much less the plot) was lost in the drunken, drugged ramblings of the main characters; I felt that the film was something greater than the sum of its parts, but for the life of me I couldn't figure it out. I realized that the true nihilists in the film were actually the heroes, not the ones who declare themselves to be nihilists, and I caught a few more such jokes and twists, but I couldn't construct the whole out of the parts. Someone needs to explain it to me, I guess. That said, people who like the Coen brothers should see this film, and those who have seen too many mobsters-and-a-briefcase-full-of-cash movies and want to see a clever parody thereof would like this film. I'm not totally sure (outside of the stunningly great dream sequences) I entirely liked this film.
Other Notes: Boy, that was a waffling review. No, really, it's got its moments, but I was thinking Fargo and got more like Fellini.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston.
Directed by: Joel Coen