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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW New altar completes Meditation Center ... Real talk about race ... Jackson County pot regulations in limbo ... New altar completes Meditation Center ... Real talk about race ... Jackson County pot regulations in limbo ... MOVIE REVIEW All 'Hail, Caesar!'? Not really in this film Comment By Chris Honoré for Revels DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré for Revels Posted Feb. 11, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Chris Honoré for Revels Posted Feb. 11, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Hail, Caesar! ; 105 min; Rated PG-13 Consider “Hail, Caesar!” a Coen brothers’ bookmark. They’re keeping their place until they make their next substantive film. If there’s a plot, it’s missing in action, for the film consists of a series of set pieces, strung together like so many light bulbs, all meant to capture the Hollywood of the 1950s when the big studios were producing films that today seem so ludicrous that one can only wonder why they were “hits.” And perhaps that’s the Coens’ main point, and “Hail, Caesar!” is one long parody bordering on satire, played for mean-spirited laughs, though the real laughs are few and far between. At the center of the film is Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a Capitol Pictures’ fixer whose mission is to keep the studio stars from imploding. And so he rushes from sound stage to sound stage, dealing with the personal issues of his stable of stars who are either so dim or irresponsible that he can barely keep up with events. And then he’s told that his top box office star, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), is missing, just as the studio is wrapping up its major biblical epic (akin to “Ben Hur” with a touch of “Spartacus”). No one seems to know where he is. Except the audience, of course. Seems Whitlock has been kidnapped by a gang of Hollywood leftie red-scare writers flirting with Russia, intent on converting him to their point of view. Whitlock, of course, is just dumb enough not to be offended. He should have been. In Hollywood during McCarthyism countless careers and lives were destroyed. The Coens know this. Viewed in its entirety, the film doesn’t amount to much. There’s a scene reminiscent of Esther Williams (Scarlett Johansson) doing a water ballet scene dressed like a mermaid; a singing cowboy ala Roy Rogers (Alden Ehrenreich) who is told to leave the horse and hat and guitar behind and appear in a sophisticated New York drama. Meanwhile, Whitlock is still missing, and Mannix is desperate to find him, as are two gossip columnists (Tilda Swinton, playing twin sisters). It’s all meant to be entertaining and amusing and aimed at those who remember the Hollywood of that period and do so with affection and even nostalgia. But that takes us back to the definition of parody, which in the case of “Hail, Caesar” uses exaggeration as part of what appears to be an unflattering critique. In retrospect, it’s amazing that audiences were enamored of a guy on horseback holding a guitar and singing a song while the cattle just over the hill were being rustled; ditto synchronized swimmers doing their number with a band seated on a wide shell playing music; or Mannix sitting down with a priest, a rabbi, a minister and an orthodox monk to get their take on how the studio is portraying Jesus. OK, perhaps satire is closer to what the Coens had in mind than parody since satire involves an expose of the absurd with a hint of humor and a touch of ridicule. No doubt, “Hail, Caesar!” will find an audience since the Coens have more than a few solid films that preceded this one, such as “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” One of their best and a must-see. Or “No Country For Old Men,” a fine and chilling adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s dark novel that won four awards at the Oscars, one for best direction. Not going to happen with “Hail, Caesar!” By Chris Honoré for Revels DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré for Revels Posted Feb. 11, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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