Familiar ground

Burn After Reading (2008)

Written/Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen

* * 1/2

Last year's No Country for Old Men was the high watermark creatively and critically for the Coen brothers, even eclipsing the excellent noirish Fargo. With Burn After Reading, the Coens return to the familiar ground of a bizarre, convoluted comedy/crime piece. There are average citizens becoming involved with something over their heads, off-beat and often lewd humor, a plethora of profanities, over-the-top bloody violence and a slew of zany characters who somehow all become connected by a nonsensical caper.

All of this would seem much more original if had not been explored with more skill in the Coens' The Big Lebowski ten years ago. Essentially, Burn After Reading utilizes the same formula from that cult sensation. The Coens may be known for twisting conventional Hollywood genres but with Burn After Reading their unconventional style becomes predictable and at times stale. The best way to describe the complex plot is this: two employees of the local D.C.-area gym Hardbodies, Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) and Linda Litzki (Frances McDormand) gain possession of a CD-R containing the memoirs of intensely paranoid ex-CIA agent Osborne Cox (John Malkovich).

Linda's hopes to extract a large sum of money from Cox to pay for several plastic surgeries she's been dying to get, while the easy-going and dim-witted Chad is just along for the ride to support his friend. Others become involved such as the womanizing Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), the cold and controlling Katie Cox (Tilda Swinton), a gym manager (Richard Jenkins) the Russian embassy, divorce lawyers and the blase (and hilarious) CIA superior (J.K. Simmons, the film's standout).

As expected, the plot becomes increasingly muddled as the real draw of the film is supposed to be its outlandish characters. Just like The Big Lebowski, Burn After Reading is not about trying to make sense of the narrative, but rather, enjoying the characters and the predictably unpredictable story. Unfortunately, this time the course language and crass behavior of most of the characters wears thin at times. Granted, it is funny at times but other times I rolled my eyes at the sophomoric humor and over-reliance on four letter curse words (I prefer wit over profanity).

Devotees of the Coen brothers and those who enjoy Burn After Reading's brand of humor should find the film mildly entertaining. It's certainly not a bad film but it's far from the Coens' best effort. I don't think it's a "step back" creatively but more of a "step to the side", as the Coens definitely aren't showing any growth as filmmakers with their latest effort. Here's hoping their next effort explores newer territories.