"Hail Caesar!" (movie critique)

HAIL CAESAR!
movie poster

The Friday Movie Mavens and The Travelling Toe decided that laugh's were needed for this week's movie pick, so we went to see "Hail Caesar!"  The movie was written, produced and directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.  The movie is full of "star power" with many in almost cameo roles.

Ethan Coen

Joel Coen

The movie takes places in the 1950's during the time that movie studios were losing money and were under financial pressure from the advent of television.  The main character in the story is Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) the head fixer of a major movie studio who is an expert in protecting the actors at the studio from any type of scandal.

Josh Brolin

The main plot of the story line is that famous actor Baird Whitlock, played by George Clooney, is in the midst of making a major picture about a Roman general, named Caesar. Unbeknownst to Baird or anyone else on the set, 2 extras, slip him a mickey in his drink.  They then follow them to his dressing room and when he passes out they kidnap him.  Now this is where the plot gets a little perplexing - the true reason why he was kidnapped. (one finds out later in the story)

George Clooney

There is another movie being made on the lot starting Dee Anna Moran,  (Scarlett Johansson) who is an Esther Williams type swim star.  Dee Anna is not married and when she finds out she is pregnant, Eddie has to find her a husband and quick.

Scarlett Johansson

Then there is the singing cowboy, Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich) who is just so gee-whiz happy to be doing what he is doing.  Eddie casts him in a contemporary movie and the scene between Hobie and the director, Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes) over how to pronounce a word is really funny.

Alden Ehrenreich 

Ralph Fiennes

Channing Tatum shows up as Burt Gurney, a song and dance man - think Gene Kelly.  It was obvious that Channing did his own dancing routines but we agreed that his singing voice had to have been dubbed.

Channing Tatum

How does it all come together?  Well, some of it doesn't and some of it does. Will Eddie find his kidnapped star in order to finish the movie on time and find out why was he kidnapped to begin with?  Well, this is a Coen Brother's movie after all.

As they say in the movie industry Dear Reader, it's a wrap, you will just have to see this movie for yourself to find out all the juicy details.

A few other actors in the movie are:

Jonah Hill

Frances McDormand

Tilda Swinton

Christopher Lambert

and too many more to list in this post.

Side Note:  George looks pretty good in a "skirt".  He has great gams!

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 1 big toe up with a year's subscription to "Photoplay" and "Confidential" - the industry's top gossip rags of the day!

Disclaimer:  The Travelling is not a professional critic and any opinions expressed are for entertainment purposes only.