DVD REVIEW: The Ladykillers
Such a template for American cinema’s preeminent crime caper auteurs never struck me until I saw their take on an old Sellers classic: The Ladykillers.
The original 1955 film, a William Rose script directed by Alexander Mackendrick, offers the most likely manifestation of a Sellers-penned Hitchcock film imaginable. So the Coens’ choice in remaking it is hardly surprising. It’s funny then, that their 2004 update borrows little from the original other than its premise of a band of thieves hiding and scheming in the basement of an unsuspecting old lady.
And that’s not entirely a bad thing.
The Coens’ Ladykillers was frequently panned by critics and yielded fan emotions ranging from disappointment to loathing. But the streamlined plot works nicely toward the Coens’ apparent goal of heightening the opportunity for a wide range of jokes, from the crass opines of foul-mouthed Marlon Wayans to Edgar Allen Poe and Shakespeare references, the Coens’ script fires the yucks (or groans) like a comedy machine gun.
Enjoyment of this movie may very well depend on your mood on one hand, and your overall ability to appreciate both an IBS-related subplot and esoteric musings on such things as religion, politics and literature on another. But striking this balance, I believe, yields a
worthy payoff as only the Coens can deliver.
The plot is essentially this: Professor G.H. Dorr (Tom Hanks) leases a room in the home of genteel, southern mammy Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall), in order to mastermind a heist by burrowing from Munson’s root cellar into the vault of a riverboat casino a few hundred yards away. A string of setbacks aside, the plan succeeds only to be discovered during the ill-timed return of the old woman to her home.
Professor Dorr makes a spirited, but failed effort to whitewash the old woman, only to be offered a pius ultimatum which leads to the eventual decision by the entire band of criminals to “off” the old lady. A keystone series of whack attempts ensues.
This uncomplicated plot gives the Coens time to explore the
zany idiosyncrasies of this cast lead by Tom Hanks as a sort
of sniveling, intellectual Dr. Fu Man Chu come Colonol
Sanders. Hanks’ Professor seems to have skipped right over
the 20th century, an 1870s-ish Southern sophisticate leading
a brood of 21st Century goofballs, from a hip-hop, would-be
thug to an opinionated pyrotechnician prone to long bouts of
liberal haranguing. Plenty of belly-laughs from this
ensemble.
So then what, exactly, is the problem with The Ladykillers?
Nothing, except that it wears the exceptionally high brand
of being a Coen Brothers film. This movie ranks in the
bottom half of the Coens’ cannon, but there is still much to
love here. It’s not a thoughtful film like Fargo or O
Brother Where Art Thou. There’s no emotional wallop beneath
the hijinks. But Professor Dorr, Gawain MacSam (Marlon
Wayans), Garth Pancake (J.K. Simmons)and The General (Tzi
Ma) are undeniably Coen characters worthy of repeated
viewing.
The Ladykillers DVD comes with only a modest offering of
special features. The Coens, nor the cast, do any
commentary on the film, which is a shame. The uncomplicated
nature of The Ladykillers might have provided an opportunity
for humorous tangents or some insight into the Coens’ own
take on the original film as well as their own. I hope
future releases include this feature.
The four features that are offered are mildly entertaining.
The best is a brief documentary about Danny Ferrington, the
man who made the classical instruments used by the thieves
to pull off their front as a group of practicing musicians.
Ferrington, a personal friend of the Coens and instrument
craftsman for such entertainers as Johnny Cash, Pete
Townsend and Kurt Cobain, provides an hilarious history of
the Ladykiller’s instruments. He also gives us a glimpse of
the kind of personalities the Coens are drawn to in real
life and how it’s no surprise that their well of crazily
fascinating characters appears far from dry.
Another feature is a reel of Marlon Wayans getting slapped
up and down by Irma P. Hall. While most of these must have
been stage slaps, there are moments when Wayans looks
undeniably dazed. Pretty amusing. It only last a few
minutes.
There is a Gospel music special feature. I’m sorry to say I
didn’t watch this, but if Gospel music is your type of
thing, then I see no reason why you wouldn’t enjoy it.
And there is a feature (to be used on your PC) which allows
you interact with the movie while reading the screenplay.
Aspiring screenwriters may find this highly useful, but I
did not play with this feature.
It’s easy to see what drew the Coens to William Rose’s
original material and while their version is not entirely
successful, the hints of the Coens’ likely influences of
Sellers et al is readily apparent. Hitchcock may have never
directed a Sellers script, and while the 2004 Ladykillers
update is much less akin to such a theoretical collaboration
as the 1955 original, we are at least reminded that great
filmmakers still exist, even if not every single one of
their movies happens to be great.
I give the movie a B-. I give the special features a C+.
