BURN AFTER READING * * *
Cert 15 96 mins
Perhaps a release valve after the tightly wound intensity of No Country For Old Men, the Coen brothers follow up with a breezy screwball spy spoof about political paranoia, populated – as the ‘intelligence is relative’ poster line suggests – by a cast of idiots going through mid-life crises.
Given a fairly modest body count, it’s closer to the comedy-violence of Raising Arizona than the more noirish humour of Fargo though it shares a certain sensibility and misunderstandings based narrative with both, not to mention the latter’s star, Frances McDormand.
She’s Linda Litzke, a personal trainer at the Homebodies Fitness Centre and self-image hypochondriac who, oblivious to the crush nursed by her boss (Richard Jenkins) reckons she’s in need of a physical makeover to restore her faded lustre. However, since her insurance company refuses to pay for the cosmetic surgery procedures she wants, she needs to raise the money elsewhere.
The answer to the problem presents itself in the form of a computer disc found in the changing room. It would seem to contain highly sensitive intelligence service data and, recruiting doltish hyperactive, gum-chewing fellow employee Chad (Brad Pitt) as her accomplice, she intends to shake down the owner. This would be Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) a foul-mouthed contemptuously arrogant CIA analyst who quit in a huff after being demoted because of his fondness for several drinks too many.
However, rather than state secrets, the disc actually contains notes for his tell-all memoirs along with details of his financial affairs. In fact, it’s not even his disc. It was actually made by his ice maiden paediatrician wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton) who, having an affair with womanising married federal marshal Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney) is arming herself for a divorce settlement.
An already nicely tangled plot gets a few more knots when, Cox having refused to pay up, Linda and Chad try to sell the information to the Russians while, as part of her online dating, she starts up a liaison with Harry who seems rather less keen on leaving his wife for Katie than he professes.
The surprise abrupt exit of one of the characters in an accidental shooting sends the ball rolling off in yet another convoluted direction while a baffled CIA agent (David Rasche) and his bemused boss (a scene-stealingly droll JK Simmons) try and make sense of the bungling. This is post 9/11, who sells secrets to the Russians?!
Malkovich, McDormand, Swinton and Clooney knowingly send up their screen personas while, sporting Spandex and a hair-do to rival Javier Bardem’s, Pitt slices the ham in generously thick slices for a performance that bounces along in much the same manner that Chad walks.
But this is a film of individual comedic pleasures (Swinton’s threat to a recalcitrant kid is especially funny while Harry’s DIY rocking chair sex-aid is hilarious) rather than sustained laughs. Briefly stepping away from the arch tone, there’s an unexpected moment of poignancy as Cox apologises to his invalid ex-CIA father for being a failure, but otherwise it’s strangely lacking in heart. We’re even invited to find Linda’s sad self-loathing cause for amusement.
With too many targets in its sights, and rather obviously flagging in the third act before a rushed exposition wrap up that almost feels like a self-parody of No Country’s deliberate off-camera climax this is, as Simmons’ character says, ‘no biggie’. But then, The Ladykillers remake obviously excepted, even Coen lite is a cut above most of the competition and while it may not blaze, it does fire up an enjoyable glow.
THE ROCKER * *
Cert 12A 102 mins
Blithely ignorant about modern technology, 40-ish man-child drummer Robert ‘Fish’ Fishman is unaware that rehearsing naked with other band members via webcam isn’t a good idea. His nude jamming winds up online, making him a YouTube sensation as The Naked Drummer and attracting the interest of a dodgy manager who reckons he can cash in on the gimmick.
Odd then that Full Monty director Peter Cattaneo then simply drops the whole gag and, other than one brief reference, it never again figures as part of the narrative. A pity because it would at least have brought something different to this passably amusing but generally tired comedy about second chances, following your dream and life lessons in mutual understanding.
Skulking in the shadows of School of Rock, a disappointing Rainn Wilson is a slightly less chubby warmed-over Jack Black as Fish, a middle-aged slob whose chance of rock and roll stardom was snatched away 20 years earlier when the other members (Will Arnett, Fred Armisen, Bradley Cooper) of hair metal outfit Vesuvius ditched him in order to ease their passage to stardom.
Now they’re million-sellers with fake Brit accents and he’s embittered, unemployed, living with his sister’s family and still dressing like a Motley Crue wannabe.
However, he’s persuaded back behind the kit when, their own drummer grounded, keyboard playing nephew Matt (Josh Gad) plays the guilt trip card to recruit him as emergency stand-in for A.D.D, his high school band of fellow misfits, at their prom night gig.
Despite wrecking the night by giving Peter Gabriel’s In Your Eyes a John Bonham makeover, since Fish is passionately up for it, emo singer Curtis (minor US teen pop star Teddy Geiger) and goth guitarist Amelia (Emma Stone) set aside reservations and embarrassment to give things another shot.
Which brings us to that webcam moment and a subsequent offer of record deal and tour, Curtis’ protective mom (Christina Applegate) insisting riding shotgun as chaperone. Not that she need worry much about the kids being led down the path of rock n roll hell raising. Fish may be prancing around in his underwear with groupies, but the teens make the Jonas Brothers look like Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse combined.
By way of plot drama, you have Curtis getting antsy about a blossoming (but tepidly enacted) relationship between Fish and his mom, thereby prompting a band fall-out, and Fish having to confront his demons when the label want A.D.D to be the opening act at Vesuvius’ induction into the Hall of Fame.
Formulaic and predictable right down to the underdog triumphant climax and pat tying up of the various underwritten subplots, while there are flashes of humour it never rises above lukewarm sitcom, the music’s mediocre and, attempts at satire between the broad physical comedy, merely make you want to dig out your Spinal Tap DVD again.
IGOR * * *
Cert PG 86 mins
It never quite taps into the same dark moods of such obvious animation role models as Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride, but, even so, there’s a lot of sly fun to be had with this ‘can do’ sweet-natured spin on the old Frankenstein monster mash, much of which seems likely to fly over the heads of younger audiences.
Once a sunny realm, the kingdom of Malaria now lives under the dark clouds that destroyed its former farming lifestyle. Under the unctuous bug-like King Malbert (Jay Leno), the economy is founded on blackmailing the rest of the world into paying for it not to sell the weapons created by its evil scientists.
Each year, said scientists take part in the Evil Science Fair, to see who can come up with the most evil creation. In their efforts they’re aided in the switch pulling department by their hunchbacked servants, all known as Igor. However, one rather more intelligent – and deep down decent – Igor (John Cusack on familiar neurotic form) has evil scientist ambitions of his own.
So, when his inept master (John Clues) is killed by his own incompetence, he sees the chance to realise his dreams and build an indestructible living female monster (Molly Shannon) from a patchwork of spare parts.
Unfortunately, things don’t quite go according to plan, the evil bone implanted in his creation body fails to spark and she turns out to be a gentle giant who, literally, wouldn’t harm a fly. Not Evil, but Eva. Things go further awry when, having wheeled her down for a brain wash, she winds up watching the wrong programming and (riding a vein of Hollywood satire) emerges wanting to become an actress, adopt Third World children, and star in Annie.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, having won the contest every year by stealing other scientist’s inventions, wannabe usurper Dr. Schadenfreude (marvellous scene stealing villainy by Eddie Izzard) is determined to have Eva for his own and release her dormant evil.
There’s some problem with pacing and a little too much plotting for its own good, but it’s visually inventive and the voice cast, which includes Jennifer Coolidge as Schadenfreude’s body-switching girlfriend, Sean Hayes’ dimwitted Brain (a description as much as a name) and, in an inspired streak of macabre humour, Steve Buscemi as an immortal reanimated dead rabbit who keeps trying to kill himself, are clearly having fun. Chances are, you will too.
EAGLE EYE * *
Cert 12A 117 mins
Shortly after the funeral of his identical twin Air Force brother Ethan, killed in a traffic accident, drop out copy shop employee Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) is amazed to find $750.000 in his tapped out bank account. Delight is short-lived when he returns to his Chicago apartment to discover it floor to ceiling with a delivery from Terrorism Is Us.
His cell phone rings and an anonymous female voice informs him he has 30 seconds to get out before the FBI arrive.
Next thing he knows, he’s being interrogated as a terrorist suspect by Agent Morgan (Billy Bob Thornton). Left alone to make his phone call, the mystery voice orchestrates his escape by way of a crane arm through the window.
Meanwhile, out with the girls after having put her young son on a train to play with his music school in Washington DC, divorced mom Rachel (Michelle Monaghan) gets a call from the same voice, informing her that she’s been ‘activated’ and that unless she follows instructions, the kid will die.
Naturally, the two are brought together to fulfil an unspecified mission, their every move monitored and manipulated by the technology around them, with Morgan and Air Force intelligence agent Zoe (Rosario Dawson) on their tail putting the puzzle together.
A cautionary techno fear fable about Big Brother (or, Big Sister, actually) surveillance run amok and the dangers of extreme National Security measures, the film opens with the President authorising his Secretary of Defence (Michael Chiklis) to ignore abort recommendations and carry out a strike on the unconfirmed sighting of an Afghan terrorist. The bombing of a what turns out to have been a simple funeral provokes a wave of anti-American attacks.
If this seems reminiscent of Syriana, it’s not the only familiar element in a film that echoes the conspiracy theory of things like Three Days Of The Condor, lifts its cross-wired ‘villain’ straight out of 2001:A Space Odyssey, takes its ‘wrong man’ scenario from North By Northwest, borrows Thornton’s character off Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive and comes with an assassination attempt ending virtually identical to the one in Get Smart.
Director DJ Caruso keeps things on the move, but becomes increasingly entangled in a preposterous narrative in which only the credits make sense while orchestrating the mayhem in such a blur it’s impossible to make out what’s going on.
Monaghan and LaBoeuf make engaging enough reluctant heroes and at least the screenplay resists any romantic interest spins until the final scene. Put brain in neutral and don’t think about questioning the logic and it’s an entertaining enough political thriller throwaway.
Try and watch it on the IMAX giant screen where you can actually see the plot holes.
