Burn After Reading (2008)

I don't know how to quantify Joel and Ethan Cohen's latest endeavor, Burn After Reading. Suffice to say, if you've got 96 minutes to spare, this movie wouldn't be a waste. This quirky farcical caper is insanely weird and too funny {but only if you lean left of center and enjoy the dryer, darker side.}

An moronic pair of gym employees (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand) discover a copy of a recently penned memoir from former CIA analyst Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) and try to turn a profit in returning it.

Burn After Reading is pure hilarity--it's downright ludicris--watching these numb nuts from Hardbodies and the CIA parlay one mistake into another. The movie is character driven and thanks to a stellar cast that also includes George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, and J.K. Simmons the characters are nicely developed with tics and quirks that add everything. Malkovich and Pitt compete to steal the show, but Clooney sweeps in and kills. The dialogue is equally hysterical.

This film marks only my fourth Coen film. Raising Arizona {bites}, O, Brother Where Art Thou? {bites harder}, and No Country for Old Men {doesn't bite} being the others. No, I don't know how Burn After Reading compares or truly fits with their body of work. Does it matter?!

As I see it, Burn After Reading is sardonic fun that will be lost on most viewers. The precious {and warped} few will enjoy this one.