The Hudsucker Proxy
This movie came and went in theatres, not helped by its weird name and lack of car chases. It’s written and directed by the Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan), best known recently for Fargo, but also loved for Raising Arizona and Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink (which, by the way, I hate), and Blood Simple.
Hudsucker is their most underrated film. The story line, a fictional account of the sap that brought us the hula hoop, is almost secondary to the amazing writing and the gorgeousness of this movie. It’s an homage to Frank Kapra films (like It’s a Wonderful Life), and it has that same sentimental feel, but it also has amazingly funny, fast, brilliant moments which you just have to see to get. If you’ve seen these other Coen movies and just not gotten their sense of humor, you might want to start out easy with Raising Arizona or Fargo.
Hudsucker is not bloody like Fargo, or farcical like Arizona. It’s…classic-feeling. Tim Robbins is our hero, Norville Barnes, and a host of familiar supporting actors buoys him - notably Paul Newman. Jennifer Jason Leigh is the dame, and I will admit it took me three viewings of this movie to get used to her mannerisms and voice, but she is just right. This movie is delicious like ice cream. My friend Sam says, “You can’t write dialogue like this,” yet they did and it’s great. Rich, textured, and if you’re one of those gaffe watchers on the hunt for continuity errors, you won’t find a one, despite amazingly complicated background stuff.
The music is huge, the sets are fabulous 40’s, and the script deserves a way bigger fan base. Worth every penny.
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Hudsucker Proxy redux 7/10/02
Matinee Plus Snacks
In honor of the recent death of Arthur Melin (7/8/02), the man who really invented the Hula Hoop in 1958, and the Frisbee, I am resending my Hudsucker Proxy review. Ok, I did rewrite some of it too.
This movie came and went in theatres, not helped by its weird name and lack of car chases. It’s written and directed by the Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan), best known recently for Fargo, but also loved for Raising Arizona and Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink, Blood Simple, and O Brother Where Art Thou. It’s about a man named Norville Barnes who accidentally set off the Hula Hoop craze after World War II, but it’s also about hubris. Released in 1994, Hudsucker was a fictionalized account of a real event told in a sort of hiccup of time. Kind of. Oh and then there is the almost Gilliamesque approach to the inner workings of Big Business. It’s an homage to Frank Kapra films (like It’s a Wonderful Life), and it has that same sentimental feel, but it also has amazingly funny, fast, brilliant moments which you just have to see to get.
Tim Robbins plays Norville Barnes, a sap who accidentally vaults his way to the top of Hudsucker Industries by spitting out an idea the board is sure will fail but takes off in a way nothing has taken off since marketing unremembered
Hudsucker is not bloody like Fargo, or farcical like Arizona. It’s…classic-feeling. A host of familiar supporting actors buoys Robbins - notably Paul Newman. Jennifer Jason Leigh is the dame, and I will admit it took me three viewings of this movie to get used to her mannerisms and voice, but she is just right. She’s got the same flat, brassy tone of all the greats of that era, but it feels strange and out of place in a modern film, despite being so “right.” This movie is delicious like ice cream. My friend Sam says, “You can’t write dialogue like this,” yet they did and it’s great. Rich, textured, and if you’re one of those gaffe watchers on the hunt for continuity errors, you won’t find a one, despite amazingly complicated background stuff.
The film is shot with razor sharp and elegant precision and beauty, painted by Carter Burwell’s portentious score and the visually lyric period details. Robbins is a delicious choice to play such a figure, making the logical ego transition of instant success, while retaining his unique sense of innocence and humor. “You know, for kids?” is all the marketing the Hula Hoop really needed to launch it into a major craze, both in the film and real life – but the movie is about much more. And it’s quite funny, in the way character studies can be funny.
As with all Coen brothers movies, Hudsucker has an angle, an edge, a line of humor few filmmakers cross. Since this film came out before Oscar darling Fargo and did not have the high profile silliness of Raising Arizona, it is frequently overlooked. However, most of the people I chat with choose this as one of their favorites. It’s more about the ridiculous nature of Big Business and the beauty of inspiration and gumption and honesty. It is also an elegant 1940’s period piece that makes fun of itself, complete with gumshoe narration by one character about another, a wiseacre reporter named Smitty (Bruce Campbell) and smart, sassy dialogue. It bears up with repeated viewings, and the bizarre dreamy/out of time sequences make more sense the more you live with them.
Viva la Hula Hoop!
MPAA Rating PG
Release date 4/24/97
Time in minutes 111
Director Joel & Ethan Coen
Studio Warner Bros
