October 13, 2003 -- “Intolerable Cruelty” is a funny Coen brothers (“Raising Arizona” and “Fargo”) romantic comedy that is not quite as dark as some of their other films. Instead, it is reminiscent of screwball comedies. While the comedy is pretty low-key for the most part, the film benefits greatly from a sharp script and dazzling performances by George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The movie begins with Clooney in a dentist's chair undergoing a teeth-whitening procedure. Those dazzling teeth become a running gag in the film as Clooney checks them out in mirrors every few minutes. Clooney plays hotshot lawyer Miles Massey, who has a very high winning percentage in divorce cases. Massey runs across gold digger Marylin Rexroth (Catherine Zeta-Jones) in a couple of high-profile divorce cases and there is romantic electricity between them, even though they are on opposite sides of the legal battles. Clooney is bored with divorce cases, but he is very interested in Marylin. He falls in love with her, even though he knows he shouldn't trust her. Marylin is also tired of the game of trying to get rich divorce settlements out her husbands. She fears she will end up alone, like some of her rich divorced friends. The big question in the movie becomes, will they ever get together, or are they going to continue to battle each other in the courts? Both of them are very smart and very competitive, willing to go to ridiculous lengths to win.

Clooney is excellent as the bored lawyer and the scenes between him and Zeta-Jones are great. There is wonderful chemistry between the two. The two stars are well-supported by Geoffrey Rush of “Pirates of the Carribean,” who plays Donovan Donaly, one of the victims of Massey's courtroom shenanigans. Edward Herrmann of “The Emperor's Club” plays Rex Rexroth, one of Massey's clients. Billy Bob Thornton of “Monster's Ball” plays Howard D. Doyle, one of Marylin's husbands, and Cedric the Entertainer of “Barbershop” plays Gus Petch, a private investigator specializing in divorce cases. Paul Adelstein of “Bedazzled” gives a good comic performance as Massey's legal sidekick, Wrigley. All these supporting roles are performed convincingly, and they are all meaty roles. Each supporting actor gets at least one funny scene. The writing, by Robert Ramsey, Matthew Stone and writer-directors Ethan and Joel Coen, is excellent. The dialogue is smart, snappy and as witty as one would expect in a screwball comedy. The Coen brothers also have a lot of fun with the film's soundtrack, where a number of Simon and Garfunkle hits are featured.

The story does go a little overboard near the end of the film as a hit man is hired to kill a person involved in a divorce case. Some may complain about the film's sentimentality. You have to have a certain amount of sentimentality if you are going to have a real romantic comedy, which this is. It is also hard to balance sentimentality and the “edge” that is expected from a Coen brothers movie. This movie tries to have it both ways. It is a compromise that doesn't completely work, but most of the movie is very enjoyable. The movie's strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. This is a funny, entertaining movie with witty dialogue and great performances. It marks a welcome return for a great movie genre, the screwball comedy. It rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2003 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at .