mmallon4
The Coen Brothers are hit and miss with me (I tend to have a preference more towards their comedy then their drama) but The Hudsucker Proxy is by far my favourite movie of theirs, a film which feels like it was tailor made for me. The Hudsucker Proxy takes place in its own unique universe; the acting style in the film is reminiscent of the 1930's yet the film is set in the 1950's. Likewise there appears to be a clash of fashion; the outfits are from the 30's yet the cars or the beatnik coffee house which Norvillie visits are unmistakably 1950's but I like this combination of two eras, two distinct time periods of Hollywood's golden age wrapped into one. The Hudsucker Proxy is a movie with so many layers and homage's to other movies (Sweet Smell of Success, Metropolis, The Apartment, The Producers, various Frank Capra movies); I'm sure with future viewings I will unlock even more secrets the movies holds. The Hudsucker Proxy is a love letter to anyone who loves the aesthetic of classic Hollywood movies with set designs to die for such as Paul Newman's office, an art deco fantasy land; yet the movie even injects some Terry Gilliam-esque cinematography with the scene in the mail room feeling like the world from 1985's Brazil. Likewise this is a movie of drawn out colours, mostly greys in what I feel is an attempt to emulate the appearance of black & white.What happened to Tim Robbins? He was on such a hot streak of films during the first half of the 90's, just after this he was in The Shawshank Redemption (one of the best two film streaks ever?); since then, not so much. The character of Norvillie Barnes is a Preston Sturges hero trapped in a Frank Capra story; although due to Robbin's resemblance to a young Orson Welles the character comes off to me as someone who has the look of Welles but has the personality of Gary Cooper; a young entrepreneurial go getter with a wide eyed innocence who is not fully in tune with reality, or at least hasn't been subjected to it yet. When he first arrives in New York and tries looking for a job, the word "experience" is plastered all over the frame, oh the reliability.Jennifer Jason Leigh is a revelation here; channelling Rosalind Russell, yet I can still detect elements of Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanywck and Jean Arthur in there. The coordination of her gestures is perfect and I'm also fascinated by her character dynamic in which she becomes insecure about her femininity or lack therefore off at Norville's comments of her trying to be one of the boys. Although it's never resolved, this still gives her character another layer of depth. Paul Newman on the other hand rarely ventured into comedy but he pulls of the cigar chomping, "you're fired!" type boss with ease.The film's combination of numerous elements from various genres is also carried over in its humour, from dry jokes to more overt, fast talking screwball antics. The gag with the circle drawn on the piece of paper followed by the uttering of "you know, for kids!" never gets old, even if the movie's poster somewhat spoils the joke. While the sequence detailing the creation and distribution of the Hula Hoop, I don't think I could you ask for a better fast paced quirky montage. Likewise the (almost literal) Deus Ex Machina ending could have easily come off as a copout but I feel is rescued from being so from the plot element of the blue letter; I completely forgot that even existed until the angel of Warren Hudsucker reminds a suicidal Norville about it; now that's a sign of an engaging film.
NateWatchesCoolMovies
My first ever viewing of the Coen Brother's The Hudsucker Proxy tonight left me enchanted. It's such a raucous explosion of absurd and hyperactive characters in surreal, cartoonish synergy I couldn't take my eyes away the entire time. Such is always the case with Coen fare, and I should have expected to be wowed, but every time I see a new film of their's I'm flabbergasted like its the first time discovering their work. Such is their magic; they're a once in a universe creative force that you either get, or you don't. If you aren't already cursed (or blessed, depending on how you look at it) with a really bizarre, abstract sense of humour, then chances are you just won't tune in to their wavelength and be as tickled as hardcore fans. They just have such a wall to wall comedic gold within every screenplay they tackle, a willingness to sit down with the weird, exaggerated side of life and find the uproarious elements in the most mundane of exchanges. Here we see them take on bustling late 50's New York, particularly the cutthroat corporate arena. This is also another chance to display their trademark attention to gorgeous production design and urges to poke fun at the cultural idiosyncrasies of whichever time period they are dwelling on, adding all the more personality to the piece. The ancient Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning, making compelling work of a silent, puzzling cameo) CEO of mammoth Hudsucker Industries, has hurled himself through the boardroom window, plummeting forty four stories to the pavement below, leaving the throne vacant and prompting his vulture shareholders to circle the monarchy. Second in command Sydney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman, eagle eyed, growling evil in every frame), sets his mind to hiring an utter imbecile to run the shares into the ground, in order to prevent the stocks from going public, a ditch effort of spectacular greed. Enter Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins), a naive small town boy, shunted up from the mailroom straight into Mussburger's awaiting paws, and from there into the CEO's seat. Things look well for the scheme, until Barnes, an opportunistic golden boy, unwittingly invents the newest thing, the... well I won't spoil it for you. When the J. Jonah Jameson of 1950's New York (a rabid John Mahoney, always at the top of his game in Coen land) sends his top reporter, Amy Archer (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to snoop out the company's new 'idea man' CEO, things get wild and weird in true Coen fashion. Leigh is an actress of uncanny ability. In this film, everything is cardboard cutout, cartoonish and emotionally detached, the characters mere cogs in the hyper- real story as opposed to feeling, human people. Leigh most of all is a blustery, shameless stereotype of the mile a minute speech patterned gal that everyone's image of the 50's is like, and in a film full of pseudo real characters, she's the craziest. What amazes me is that even through that sheen of period gloss and chortling melodrama, she's still able to be the only performer to convey any emotion through her work! And emotion she shows, giving poignant little moments that the film hardly has time to acknowledge, but are there for the viewer's discovery all the same! Talk about a paradox. Such is Leigh's unequalled talent though, which I've been preaching for years, and which looks like will get a fresh track to run on with Quentin Tarantino's upcoming The Hateful Eight, and the much anticipated new Twin Peaks season. Just a consummate actress and a delight to behold in anything. This film is one of the most 'Coen' Coen Brothers flicks I've ever seen, and I'm surprised it took me so long to give it a watch. It's got deliberately over the top, quirky people, relentless social and class satire, zany screwball elements and overall, intangible charm that only they can bring us. I've always thought that the energy you get in a Coen Brothers film is so insane and unique that it's equal to those moments on the night before Christmas, a minute before 12am on New Year's Eve, or when the entire neighbourhood wakes up and trundles outside to see why there's ten ambulances down the block, maybe the final seconds of hesitation before taking a risky lakeside cliff jump; there's a palpable dose of giddy adrenaline and undefinable, primal strangeness to anything they produce, a lightning in a bottle, one in a million quality that I've only ever felt with one other filmmaker, David Lynch. Suffice to say, never a dull moment in Coen land. There's an epic supporting cast including Mike Starr, Peter Gallagher, Bruce Campbell (Sam Raimi is a co writer, bless his heart;)), Jon Polito, Bill Cobbs, Joe Grifasi, Noble Willingham, Anna Nicole Smith, John Goodman, Richard Schiff and Steve Buscemi. Fanatics and film lovers alike owe it to themselves to take a trip to this utterly nutty, deliriously stylish, endlessly funny province of Coen land, a place where you never quite know what you're going to get, never quite know what you've just watched when the credits roll, but always know you've had a good, funny bone and brain stimulating time at the movies.
davidian0616
It fills me with really great satisfaction to see such an excellently made and acted movie. Every word, scene, prop, and symbol are perfectly blended into one great awesome package. It's incredibly funny, a as matter of fact it has one of the longest funny scenes I have ever seen in my life, and not a word is spoken in it. Kudos to everyone in this film, directing is amazing, the visualization magnificent. It's hilarious, yet thoughtful, morally uplifting, educational, proves a very valid point, and was released in 1994. I want to thank my friend for watching it with me immediately upon learning that I had not seen it before. Simply, wow and a whole lot of whohohohohohahahahahhaohohohoho!!!!!........
