At the outset :
Newspaper ads showing the name of the movie written within a heart made of barbed wire, the caption “A romantic comedy with a bite”, and even the title do not quite prepare you for Intolerable Cruelty, a movie by Joel Coen. This movie is filled with twists and turns, some of them genuinely unexpected, and comes through as not exactly a romantic movie, not exactly a comedy, but simply and plainly a different story. It’s a kind of battle of the sexes, but not exactly that either, because it attempts to touch upon values, or rather the lack of them.
Twists and turns :
George Clooney plays Miles Massey, a hugely successful divorce lawyer at (where else but) LA. The opening few scenes bring out just how good he is, when he wins a case (and with it, the estate and riches of the estranged husband) for his female client who’s very much guilty of adultery!
He meets his match in Marilyn, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, a woman clearly seeking riches through the dubious route of serial matrimony (followed quite obviously by well-crafted divorces). She first weds a rich, pot-bellied, philandering and pretty stupid Rex Rexroth, gets him caught red-handed on videotape, and attempts to (as she puts it) nail his a**. Miles saves Rex his riches. Round One to Miles.
Marilyn then weds a garrulous oil-rich Texan named Doyle (played by Billy Bob Thornton), who – completely besotted by the babe – literally eats up the prenup (pre-nuptial agreement, for the uninitiated). Round Two to Marilyn.
Miles sees her later as a rich divorcee, and the sparks fly again – only this time, they’re in love! So, instead of polishing his keynote address at some Annual Family Attorneys’ Conference, Massey ends up marrying Marilyn giving her initials that spell MHRDM, or Marilyn H-- Rexroth Doyle Massey (H-- being her maiden surname)!
Do the machinations end there? You better not bet on that! Something goes seriously wrong, and Miles has to do some quick thinking and quicker acting, to save it all.
What to look out for :
In what looks like an author backed role, Clooney aptly expresses the right emotions. Miles’ obsession with oral hygiene and sparkling white teeth leaves the audience in splits. He revels in scenes where he exhibits his natural bumbling charm. Simply put, it is not difficult to see why he’s such a big hit with the fairer sex.
Catherine Zeta-Jones looks what is expected of her – HOT! Her demeanour and expressions are adequate for her role.
The movie threatens to slip into clichés once in a while, like for instance, one almost expects Massey to look haggard and tear up his prepared speech at the podium when he begins to deliver his keynote address at the conference. But director Coen does not let it crumble, following up each such ‘expected’ happening with a surprise so well-handled that it brings you right out of the comfort zone you had slipped into.
One felt at the end of it all that Coen could’ve dwelt a little more upon the development of the relationship between Miles and Marilyn. It practically looks as if it all begins with a ‘hot’ look exchanged, followed up by alternating gazes of pure envy and restrained admiration, spiked up by one passionate kiss, and – a few frames later – a full-blown affair and marriage! I mean, is this all it takes?
The jokes do not actually come flying thick and fast, and sometimes look jaded – like when the dog chews on Miles’ hand in the lift. But the movie does have its moments. The best parts are Miles and Wrigley’s run-ins with Wheezie Joe, the hired killer! The fellow’s wheezes (in full Dolby) and inhaler spray are crucial to the storyline!
Another funny character is Miles’ faithful assistant Wrigley, who weeps at weddings and during emotional moments! Miles’ boss is a horrific looking bag of old bones, somehow still kept alive with all the gadgets and stuff hanging around him!
Rounding off :
Overall, Intolerable Cruelty turns out to be a story that had to be told. Some movies are best left unbranded!
So, don’t go by the ‘Romantic Comedy’ tagline, see it as a ‘Practical’ movie (as one of my friends named it) and you won’t be disappointed.