‘Hail, Caesar!’ is the ultimate Coen brothers movie – enjoyable and infuriating

They are back in theaters today with their latest, “Hail, Caesar!”.

KENNETH TURAN, BYLINE: Good morning, Renee.

“Come on you could’ve given me a little more cash”, Clooney said jokingly.

Trouble starts when one of Capitol’s movie stars, Baird Whitock (George Clooney), is drugged and kidnapped by a couple of extras during the last days of filming the Roman epic, Hail, Caesar! But really, it’s not about that. Brolin’s version of Mannix works for the fictional Capitol Pictures and brings to the job a level of guilt so comically intense, he feels the need to purge it with daily visits to the confessional booth. And he goes from set to set solving problems. “We always want to do something that’s different from what we have done before”. The comedy really lands – a scene where he has to slap around Clooney’s character is fantastically played by both. “Mr. Schenk decides this Western star should be in a drawing-room drama”.

Clooney is clearly having a ball as Whitlock; he stands out in his scenes as only a movie star like Clooney – or Whitlock – can: huge expressions, confused reactions, and the occasional comment that reveals he’s more lucid than first thought. And he’s trying to convince her that that was some kind of an accident – some kind of an injury onset.

Swinton’s reporter twin sisters, Thora and Thessaly Thacker?

Josh Brolin (who was great in the Coen’s No Country For Old Men) is okay in this, albeit one-dimensional, as Eddie Mannix.

“Oddballs and misfits” are Eddie Mannix’s stock and trade. Swinton’s great value as ever – just the way she says “shithole buddies” gets a laugh – but hopefully her Hedda Hopper riff in “Caesar’ is a more imaginative use of her”. I’m still not sure, and walked away confused and befuddled. That cow, she wouldn’t know a news story if it bit her on the posterior. Plus, the situations encountered by Brolin’s Mannix are heightened for dramatic effect.

LUKE SPENCER ROBERTS: (As Peanut) Mr. Mannix. Those aren’t my favorites, so I can be hit or miss with the brothers Coen, but that shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying.

MONTAGNE: Woah, the future calling.

The Coen Bros. are smarter than this, and better filmmakers than this. They’re very inventive. They’re very unusual.

They’ve done it worse, but they’ve done it better.

If you’re a Coen Brothers fan, “Hail, Caesar!” is worth a look. And the Coens do tend to work with the same actors. They have a very particular tone they’re after, and once they find actors who are comfortable with that tone, they stick with it. I mean, I asked them once in an interview. How many times can you sit through ‘The Robe, ‘” jokes Joel. The fun is in giving the characters grief and actors who can deal with that, who can convey that on screen – they stick with them.

TURAN: I think “Hail, Caesar!” is one of their funniest movies. The Coens get the same mileage from Clooney as they did in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”.

All of this keeps Mannix and the movie chugging along merrily, while allowing writers/directors Joel and Ethan Coen to indulge in a variety of sketch comedy.

In all, Hail, Caesar! – the version we’re watching, not the one within it – is a movie full of joy and reverence for movies, as well as one that acknowledges just how messed up movie-making as a process once was and still can be.

MONTAGNE: Kenneth Turan reviews movies for MORNING EDITION and the Los Angeles Times. This one is going to amuse everybody.