Following the dark excellence of No Country for Old Men, Burn After Reading seemed trivial. However, there are only a few filmmakers that can elevate the trivial into art. Joel and Ethan Coen are such filmmakers. The comically intricate plot starts off when Osborne Cox (played by John Malkovich) is fired from his job with little knowledge that his wife Katie (played by Tilda Swinton), is going out with a federal marshal (played by George Clooney) who is secretly married. Cox then writes his memoirs to get back at the agency and coincidentally, Chad (Brad Pitt) and Linda (Frances McDormand) finds the said memoirs on a disc and tries to get a “Samaritan tax” out of Cox. Linda plans on using the money to undergo plastic surgery for her manager Ted (Richard Jenkins) to notice her. Little did she know that Ted likes her just the way she is. While it resembles one of the Coen films namely The Big Lebowski, Burn After Reading focuses more on the bizarre insecurities experienced during mid-life crisis with only Chad as the exception. Brad Pitt showcased his most hilarious role yet by portraying Chad as the person too preoccupied with other things to care about such insecurities. If The Big Lebowski presents the Coen’s original approach to film noir, Burn After Reading bears their stamp on hysterical thrillers from The Enemy of the State to The Bourne Identity.
The Leatherheads is considered to pay homage to both the early, nondescript start of professional football and the eccentric comedies dominating the 1930’s and 40’s. George Clooney is “Dodge” Connelly, a wily member of the football team Duluth Bulldogs. When the team goes bankrupt, Connelly tries to convince a war hero who is also the current star on the college football circuit named Carter “The Bullet” Rutherford played by John Krasinski to join the team. When he succeeded, professional football was legitimized by the absolute force of Rutherford’s celebrity. However, what they don’t know is that a reporter named Lexie Litteton (Renee Zellweger) is investigating Rutherford’s war records and what she discovers may foil the whole plan. At times, the eccentric flavor and Zellweger’s acting both feels forced, but those elements do add to the fact that the movie is spirited and fun. Not only did Clooney act on this movie, but he also capably directed the film, adding highlights to the movie’s fringes and making them shine as brightly as the main plot. Leatherheads is also the film where the star potential of Krasinski was noticed and deemed him similarly charming as Jimmy Stewart. Although the movie has plenty of witty comedy, the real comic context of the movie is revealed through offhand gestures and crafty character revelations. Ultimately, the film could be said to be in Preston Sturges neighborhood beside The Lade Eve and The Palm Beach Story; and the famed director’s neighborhood is indeed an impressive place to be in.
