by Thomas Ferguson

Burn After Reading is the latest feature from Academy Award winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Cohen. These guys are hit and miss with me. They hit big with their 80’s classic Raising Arizona, but missed  big with their overrated Oscar winner No Country For Old Men....at least for me. They are back with one of the funniest disappointments of the year...at least for me.

A computer disk containing the personal information of an ex CIA agent (John Malkovich) ends up in the hands of two bumbling personal trainers ( Francis McDormand and Brad Pitt).  These two idiots think they can blackmail its owner into giving them money. Money one of them desperately needs for plastic surgery, but they both quickly realize they have messed with the wrong guy.

Added to this crazy situation is a promiscuous husband ( George Clooney) who is having an affair with the agent’s ice cold wife (Tilda Swinton). Misunderstandings, espionage, and down right stupidity ensues as these five misguided individuals try to outwit one another to get what they want.

The first half of this movie was absolutely hysterical. I remember sitting in my chair and thinking...Wow, these guys have made a complete 180 degree turn from their last movie. I loved the lighter tone and the hard-edged comedy. Comedy that was extremely funny, but also very shocking. 

Then in grand Cohen Brother fashion, they switched tones all of a sudden and this comedy became a violent  mess that angered me instead of making me laugh. The violence came out of nowhere and instantly changed my opinion of the entire film.

Now, I’m the resident horror buff here at DivaSoulSista, so violence does not bother me, but when I sit down for a screwball comedy, that’s what I want to see. I hate it when a movie’s tone switches out of nowhere.

Not that this movie is horrible, it has some wonderful things including one of the funniest lines of the year and the funniest prop in recent memory. Lets just say there is a chair you might want to strongly think about sitting on. Also, brilliant performances by all the A-List actors, especially Pitt who gives his most “out there” performance to date.

My problem is with the Cohens. Guys, we get it. You’re quirky and  you like to think outside the box. That’s fine and dandy, but can you tell a straight forward story without trying to complicate everything?  Sometimes less is more.