"Long Lost 'Brother'"
by Scott Mantz

"O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
George Clooney, John Turturro
Directed by Joel Coen

Dumb, dumber, and dumbest! John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, and George Clooney wander aimlessly through "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

In an age where creativity runs pretty scarce in the movie business, you can always count on the Coen brothers to deliver the goods. Ever since their debut feature with 1984's film noir thriller "Blood Simple," they've managed to stay one step ahead of the game with films that take an incredibly quirky, often hysterical, and sometimes disturbing look at American culture. Only Robert Altman stands alongside the Coens for constantly delivering groundbreaking and independent-minded films that will have you both laughing in hysterics and scratching your head and thinking "hmm..."

Their latest effort "O Brother, Where Art Though?" will leave you scrathing your head, all right, but that's only because the long, lost film doesn't have the slightest clue of where it's going. That's too bad, because despite moments of brilliance and an incredible musical score, the film's lackluster pace and questionable storyline are liable to leave you thinking, well, "Oh, brother!"

Based (very loosely, I'm assuming) on Homer's "The Odyssey," the story takes place in Depression-era Mississippi. Ulysses Everett McGill is desperate to get home to his wife before she marries someone else, so he and his fellow pinheads escape from their chain gang exsistence. Along their journey, they have some truly bizarre experiences, and without really meaning to, they help shape the events of the time and inadvertently record a hit song. Before you can say "damn, we're in a tight spot," McGill and pals always seem to end up 2 cents shy of a dollar bill.

Coen brother's movies are almost like a genre unto themselves, but "O Brother" can still best be described as "Forrest Gump" meets "Dumb & Dumber" (or in this case, "Dumb & Dumber & Dumbest"). McGill and his cohorts are another in a long line of lovable losers who can be found in films like "Raising Arizona" and "The BIg Lebowski," but they are too one dimensional to carry any depth and are merely pawns for our amusement. While their meetings with fate provide for some funny moments, they are too lightweight and too few and far between to keep the film engaging.

The Coen's are at their best when the comedy comes at the expense of some very high drama, suspense, and unbelievable irony. Aside from "Raising Arizona" and, to a lesser extent, "The Hudsucker Proxy," their funneist moments in gems like "Blood Simple" and "Fargo" were rooted with intense stories where complications came out of the actions of dim-witted antagonists. The snowball effect resulted in this humor because you simply couldn't believe your eyes.

Speaking of your eyes, that's where "O Brother" is a feast. The Coens capture the feel of the Depression-era south in all its glory by using faded sepia colors to accentuate the hot and arid setting. The home-grown and spiritual feel of the time is rounded out with a striking musical score that blends bluegrass and gospel, and the result is almost strong enough to draw your attention away from the film's flaws.

Considering that George Clooney vowed to be more careful about the films he worked on (and after "Batman & Robin," who could blame him?), it makes perfect sense that he'd jump at the chance to do a film with the Coens. As a result, Clooney goes for broke in a bumbling Clark Gable-esque way that finds him in top form. Films like "One Fine Day" and "Out of Sight" provided a glimpse of Clooney's comic timing, and his dimwitted demeanor is so offset by his confidence that it's hard not to like him.

Tim Blake Nelson and Coen film regular John Turturro play Clooney's fellow dimwits, but they lack the charm that Clooney effortlessly infuses into his role. It's up to a host of supporting characters to add some flesh to the bone, and they succeed with mild success. Michael Baddaluco brings fire and energy to his role as notorious bank robber "Babyface" Nelson, while fellow Coen stalwart John Goodman shows up as a one-eyed bible salesman with a mean streak that feels out of place with what the Coens were trying to do (and if you figure out what that is, lemme know!).

Some films take a while to digest, and it may take some time and repeated viewings to determine whether or not you like them. "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" is not one of those films. It's not that it doesn't leave you thinking when you leave the theater--it definitely does. The problem is that it leaves you thinking "what the hell just happened?" When Clooney sings "I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow," after watching this movie, he's not the only one.

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