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Back Shelf Beauties
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The Ladykillers This has been a good month for movies. After a rough start in January and February, we are moving into the summer movie season. Yes, that's what I said. Even though most of you are still going to bed in your flannel pajamas with your big cuddly comforters, summer has begun at the Cineplex. Each year over the past 10 years, March and April movie releases have included the kind of big budget, star driven movies that used to be reserved for May, June and July. In today's Hollywood, a big movie can open any week, under almost any circumstances, especially with a huge star like Tom Hanks. Hanks stars as Professor Goldthwait Higginson Dorr III, Ph. D. - an eccentric man who has wandered into this small, sleepy Mississippi town, along with his hired gang of thieves, to rob the local riverboat casino. The Professor has rented a room in Mrs. Munson's (Irma Hall) house, so the gang can dig straight from her basement into the riverboat casino's counting room, which is located on land. Little do they know that this seemingly sweet little old lady upstairs will be their biggest obstacle. Will The Professor and his crew pull off the scam without Mrs. Munson ruining it all? How will they get her out of the way? Directors and writers Ethan and Joel Coen have done a great job with The Ladykillers, a remake of the classic 1955 comedy that starred Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers. It's a sharp, funny, smart comedy that draws its humor from hysterical situations, visual jokes and wonderful characters. The Coen Brothers mix them all together so every laugh has multiple layers and various reasons why you will find it funny. Unlike many movies today, they know when to wrap it up and not stretch any joke, or the entire movie, past its welcome. They were also smart enough to focus the film directly on Tom Hanks. Hanks is brilliant with his 1950's-era Colonel Sanders-like character. The Professor is the kind of sweetly menacing and devilishly evil guy who could never exist in the real world, yet, you have a feeling you have met somebody like this before (he was probably your boss). Hanks flawlessly executes intentionally superfluous, flowery dialogue that is as over the top and as wicked as his character. Additionally, he physically and psychologically forms the character with a hyperactive laugh that is masking insecurity, vocal inflections and patterns that try to make every sentence crescendo like a great poem or song, and the constant scheming that is taking place when you look into his eyes. Hanks does with this character what we saw Johnny Depp do with his in Secret Window and Pirates of the Caribbean. Best of all, he has a great adversary in Hall. Hall makes the movie and premise work for the audience. While Mrs. Munson, who still has her dead husband's portrait hanging above the fireplace, is the kind of little old lady who makes contributions to her favorite university and attends church every Sunday, Hall gives her a toughness that makes the character more interesting. She has been developed into a proud character who can stand up to these criminals when needed, and allows the audience to enjoy the movie without worrying about her well-being. This helps make the sequence of events comical instead of deadly. The other supporting characters round out a great movie with wonderful contributions in small parts, especially Ryan Hurst as Lump, the dumbest man to ever walk the face of the planet. Hurst is able to walk though the movie with no facial expression beyond the look of idiocy that cracks me up just to think about it. Also, don't miss one of my favorite comedians, George Wallace, as the town sheriff who never has much work to do. The Ladykillers is a great comedy. Dare I say it's almost as good as Starsky & Hutch? 3 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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