|
MINI MOVIE REVIEW:
"Intolerable Cruelty" is an entertaining movie raised above the ordinary by the screen charisma of the two leads,
George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The movie is genuine fun as well as being smartly paced with some very good laughs.
Both of these likable actors look smashing and the quips by each are quite witty and delivered with considerable aplomb.
While an attempted homage to the great romantic screwball comedies of the Thirties and Forties (see below), this movie
fails to measure up because the charisma of the leads is not matched by a rational development of their relationship other
than the too easy to assume chemistry between two gorgeous people in a "meet-cute" situation.
Cedric the Entertainer steals the show with his bravura performance as a snoop for divorce lawyers out to get the goods
on the wayward spouses of his clients. Edward Herrman is also a delight as an aging Lothario and man-child who refuses to
act his age. But the rest of the characters are so subordinated to the leads as to be mere cardboard characters.
But the worst sin of "Intolerable Cruelty" is the same as that which happens with far too many movies today:
The previews give away the best, most humorous scenes so that after you have purchased your ticket you sadly come to realize
that you have already seen most of the good stuff.
--------------------
MOVIE CRITIQUE:
This movie could have been more, but isn't.
Often mentioned as a throwback to the great screwball romantic comedies of the Thirties and Forties, this movie fails
in comparison to, for example, Preston Sturges' brilliant 1941 comedy, "The Lady Eve," starring Barbara Stanwyck
and a very young Henry Fonda.
In short, go rent that movie, now out on a brilliant DVD recording, if you really want to see how fabulous a screwball
romantic comedy about a woman scorned and out for revenge should be.
While the leads exhibit considerable on-screen chemistry, little effort is given to Marylin Rexroth's (Zeta-Jones) transfer
from the vengeful divorcee gold digger from hell to a woman supposedly in love with the opposing divorce lawyer who bested
her. One minute they hate each other and the next minute they are in a Las Vegas wedding chapel. We're lost in the transition
and are left wondering what this is all about.
While we want them eventually to fall in love, every logical observation to that moment in time tells us that they should
really despise each other. Thus, the "whys" of their falling in love, if that is what it was supposed to be, is
not at all evidenced in this movie.
Of course, we understand that there really is no love there as Marylin's (Zeta-Jones) purported love for Miles Massey
(Clooney) is a setup for her revenge for his having outed her in divorce court as a gold digging hussy. But Massey, an expert
in this area and a man who should know better, falls for her like a load of stupid bricks. Now, while most men can be accused
of having too much of their brain located below their belt, is Massey really supposed to be this naive and clueless?
Most critics have failed to mention the obvious, which is that George Clooney, as handsome as he is, is certainly no Cary
Grant. Not even close. And Catherine Zeta-Jones' overwhelming physical attributes leave most of us at a loss for words, especially
those of a critical nature. Yeah, she's gorgeous and a pleasure to look at, but she also is no Katherine Hepburn or Barbara
Stanwyck.
Finally, the supporting characters, critical in a movie like this, are for the most part weakly developed and characterized.
There are some exceptions to this. Cedric the Entertainer is wonderful in his joyful and over the top performance as a gumshoe
out to "Nail their ass!" and Edward Herrman's role as a playful and ever so immature playboy are both very well
done.
Otherwise, this movie offers little in the supporting role department. Also look at "The Lady Eve" for the numerous
well fleshed out minor characters that give this classic film such a joyous nuance.
------------------------
MOVIE SYNOPSIS:
Famed Los Angeles divorce attorney, Miles Massey (George Clooney), is examining his pearly whites from every angle in
the mirror. It is clear that he is obsessive about his appearance to the point of extreme vanity. Here is a guy who is fixated
on his good looks to the point of narcissism.
But, why, we ask ourselves? Is he a movie star? No, he is just another hot shot Los Angeles divorce attorney who caters
to the rich and powerful. It is obvious that he has adopted the preening manner of many of his Hollywood clients, one or two
of whom will no doubt be meeting him later at the law offices where he is the rain making partner.
Late the prior evening a fancy new convertible is careening down the Pacific Coast Highway with an obviously inebriated
driver at the wheel. Hysterical laughter evidences that the occupants are still having way too much fun to notice another
car surreptitiously tailing them from a respectful distance.
Aging Rex Rexroth (Edward Herrman), that inebriated driver, is soon checking into a roadside motel with a much younger
blonde babe on his arm. They quickly undress while prancing around the bedroom and then both dive into the bed together in
near naked sexual abandon ready to enjoy the sensual pleasures of the moment.
Suddenly, the motel door bursts open and Gus Petch (Cedric the Entertainer) bursts in with camera flashes popping and
video tapes rolling. The two lovers are caught "en flagrante delecto" and reduced to a state of panic while Gus
joyously shouts, "I'm gonna nail your ass! I'm gonna nail your ass!"
When Rex finds that the keys to his home have suddenly been changed, ace divorce lawyer Miles Massey (George Clooney)
and his lapdog legal assistant, Wrigley (Paul Adelstein), soon have a new client. Miles is challenged by Rex's seemingly hopeless
situation, especially after his hard-as-nails wife, Marylin (Catherine Zeta-Jones), appears at the firm with her own divorce
attorney, Freddy Bender (Richard Jenkins), in tow.
After seeing the tapes provided by Gus Petch, it is clear that Marylin wants to nail his ass as well. Miles is, like all
of us, awed by her beauty, which is only matched by her vindictiveness and vengefulness. She later proudly admits as much
as she lounges by the Beverly Hills pool side with a few of her friends, including the owner of the mansion, Sarah Sorkin
(Julia Duffy, the lazy maid of the Bob Newhart television show fame. What a delight finally to see her again!).
However, Marylin is all feminine sweetness and tears on the trial bench as she plays her role of the wronged wife to perfection.
Things are not going well for Massey and Rexroth, but he has an ace up his sleeve. Late in the trial, the mincing Heinz, the
Baron Krauss von Espy (Jonathan Hadary), is introduced as a star witness for the defense. He recounts how Marylin had been
staying at his plush inn for the rich in Europe and had plied him for the names of the richest of his guests. But a further
requirement was that they had to be silly playboys and roués of the first order, and none too smart, either. Rex Rexroth,
a wealthy oil man, fit the bill perfectly and soon thereafter Marylin had him nailed at the alter.
It is clear to all, especially the trial judge, that Marylin's case has been irreparably damaged by this testimony, which
proves her not to be a naive and innocent housewife wronged by her philandering husband, but rather a materialistic, gold
digging hussy out to entrap him first in marriage and then in an extramarital affair so that she could walk away with a sizable
portion of his oil fortune.
Marylin loses her case as it is thrown out of court. She has gone from a life of privilege and luxury as the wife of a
wealthy oil man to abject penury now forced to rely on the help of her few divorcee friends, like Sarah Sorkin, for food and
lodging. This has all been due to the machinations of that opposing divorce attorney, Miles Massey. Marylin silently vows
revenge. There is no doubt that she will be sure to make him pay for snatching defeat out of her jaws of financial victory.
|
