Hail, Caesar! will conquer your funny bone

Crammed with A-list talent, “Hail, Caesar!” is a delightfully light and frothy love letter to a Golden Age of Hollywood which was much more gold-plated than 24-carat memories might suggest. Although not quite the madcap laugh-a-minute romp the expertly edited trailer might suggest – this is not “The Last Ten Minutes Of ‘Blazing Saddles’: The Movie” – it’s a jolly and warm movie simultaneously lionising and lampooning the Hollywood of old at twilight of the studio system and the dawn of the Red Menace.

Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is the head of production at Capitol Pictures and also acts as the studio’s ‘Fixer’ making sure its stars stay out of trouble and out of the papers, unless its for the right reason. When the star of the studio’s upcoming prestige picture “Hail, Caesar!”, matinee idol Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) is kidnapped, Mannix must add finding his erstwhile leading man to his crowded to do list while fending off the enquiries of the gossip columnists, hungry for salacious studio tittle tattle.

The rosy nostalgic filter through which the Coen brothers show us 1950s Hollywood doesn’t prevent them from layering on the satire, albeit gently. Wonderful turns from Ralph Fiennes, Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton and…er…Tilda Swinton are interspersed with amusingly realised pastiches of Hollywood’s output of the 1950s.

The cast are clearly having a tremendous time and its joyous to see such great actors pretending to be bad actors. While the lightness of tone prevents the mystery aspects of the film from ever really developing momentum, there’s enough in the personal journey of Eddie Mannix as he contemplates a life outside the hurly burly circus of movie production to hold the movie together.

Awash with charm, “Hail, Caesar!” is subime and ridiculous; a treat for movie fans and lovers of film alike. Under the bright and breezy direction of the Coens, the top notch cast bring the sparklingly witty script to vibrant, technicolour life.

hail caesar review
Score 8/10


Hi there! If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to get new posts sent straight to your inbox?

Sign up to receive a weekly digest of The Craggus' latest posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

logo

Related posts

Ouija (2014) Review

Ouija (2014) Review

Is there anything there? The film opens with two young girls playing with a Ouija board. Cue some expositive rules:  1. Never play alone; 2. Never play in a graveyard; 3. Always say goodbye. Of course, rules are made to be broken. Oh,  and you can see the entities that...

Paddington 2 (2017) Review

Paddington 2 (2017) Review

Paddington 2 is almost too delightful to bear. With the original having been an unexpected delight, anticipation for “Paddington 2” was sky-high. Could the little bear from Peru pull off the ‘difficult’ second movie? The answer is an unqualified ‘yes’. Determined to get his Aunt Lucy...

Gravity (2013) Review

Gravity (2013) Review

Gravity reminds us of the majesty and danger of space exploration. With “Gravity”, Alfonso Cuarón, director of the first really good Harry Potter film, has delivered the definitive 21st Century space movie. This is not science fiction, this is scientific fiction and it’s all the more...

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) Review

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) Review

Did you enjoy “Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy”? Yes? Then the chances are you’re going to enjoy “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”, even if parts of it feel  a little familiar. “Anchorman 2” is a funny sort of hybrid creation: part sequel, part remake with just a little bit...

Smile (2022) Review

Smile (2022) Review

Despite high concept marketing, an overreliance on jump scares leaves me stony-faced during Smile Adapted from his own 2020 short film LAURA HASN’T SLEPT, writer/ director Parker Finn takes the welcome approach of making SMILE a continuation rather than a rehash of the original, with...

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Review

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Review

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween brings a kid's halloween fantasy to life There’s no rest for the Tenacious as Jack Black finds himself back amongst the spooky goings-on, although this time around, it’s Slappy calling the shots in "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween". When Sonny...

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023) Review

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning (2023) Review

Bravura stunt work fails to mitigate the shortcomings in plot and dialogue that cause Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning to self-destruct. With Daniel Craig’s Bond having abdicated the long-held action crown in a Quixotic quest for prestige picture legitimacy, Tom Cruise has deftly...

Doctor Who: The Robot Revolution

Doctor Who: The Robot Revolution

Look Who's back. For now, at least... If – IF – the rumour mill is to be believed, this 15th (stop trying to make season 2 happen, Russell) series of the revived Doctor Who may be the last for quite some time* and on the strength of season opener The Robot Revolution, maybe that’s not...

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments