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Intolerable Cruelty is a 2003 dark comedy/romance directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Cedric The Entertainer, and Billy Bob Thornton. It was released by Universal Pictures and received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
George Clooney portrays Miles Massey, the nation's top divorce attorney. In court, Massey is an ultimate power: suave, prepared, and ready to destroy the opposition. But outside of the court, Massey is in the middle of a mid-life crisis. No longer enchanted by his wealth and excess, Massey's life is turned inside out after he meets Catherine Zeta-Jones, who portrays Marilyn Rexroth, a serial divorcee. Both are surprised by their instant connection, but destiny surprises the two on the road towards true love. Intolerable Cruelty also stars Geoffrey Rush, Cedric The Entertainer, Billy Bob Thornton and Edward Herrmann.
Quote
- Counselor Bender: "Objection, your Honor! Strangling the witness!"
Judge Munson: "I'm going to allow it." - Massey (ordering lunch from a diner): "Ham sandwich on stale rye bread. Lots of mayo, easy on the ham."
Visual Gags
The movie is repleat with cartoonish visual gags despite the veneer of pretention the characters carry with them:
- In the scene where Massey (Clooney) plays tennis with an assistant watching, the assistant is shown to be wearing a green t-shirt that merely says "OBJECTION!" (Both Massey and the assistant work in a law firm). For some reason, the shirt's humor grows upon viewers and has become a cult symbol for the movie, and is one of its most memorable-if-throwaway gags.
- In a scene where an asthematic hitman mistakes his gun for his inhaler, the combination of extremely bloody death with the ridiculousness of the situation creates an uneasy mixture of macabre and humor.
- The sexual metaphor of the train, beginning as a light reference in the beginning, takes on Tristram Shandy-like proportions by the time the train orgy scene rolls into town.
External links
- Coenesque: The Films of the Coen Brothers
- You Know, For Kids! Intolerable Cruelty page
- Intolerable Cruelty review by Cosmopolis
2003 films | Black comedy films | Comedy-drama films | Films directed by the Coen brothers
"Intolerable Cruelty"