I'm
not sure what to make of this film. It has all the signature
Coen Brothers' touches that we've come to expect: weird characters,
unusual settings, and dreamlike sequences in the middle of everyday
life. The story is about an idealistic young writer from New York
(Turturro) who is lured to the big time in Los Angeles, only to find
that he's expected to write lowbrow stuff for the movie studios. But
it left me flat. And the whole John Goodman hotel plot line was hard
to figure. Ebert will tell you that parts of the movie symbolize the
rise of Nazism, etc., but if the average viewer doesn't pick up those
references, does the movie make its point? Nevertheless, it's still
worth seeing.
—
marty
