TV & Movie Buffet: Burn After Reading

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Burn After Reading

Pitiful, like an overdone steak
By Alex Berry

On the surface, Burn After Reading is nothing more than a bunch of over exaggerated stereotypes gallivanting in an unrealistic world of idiots. As the latest Coen Brother's flick (following award winning and crowd pleasing No Country for Old Men), this disappointing espionage storyline has too many coincidental subplots, overused humor, and overdramatic acting. But this all seems to be a masking method to portray America as a country full of lonely, arrogant, and disconnected people--which works in its own meaningless way.

The supposed "dark comedy" isn't much of a comedy at all, maybe earning a grin or chuckle for some of the absurdity. Mostly, the oddball movie is downright boring, and this dragging tale of CIA mockery and societal ignorance falls into a 'love or hate' category--as most Joel and Ethan Coen movies do. Take it or leave it.

The central plot focuses on Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) and Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand), two dim-witted gym employees who stumble upon a disc containing the memoirs of former CIA agent, Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich). Imagining the information on the disc is valuable government spyware, Chad and Linda foolishly attempt to blackmail Osbourne in order for Linda to pay for her multiple plastic surgeries.

Osbourne's wife is having an affair with playboy Harry Pffarer (George Clooney) who in turn is also a married CIA agent and begins courting Linda after coincidentally meeting through an online dating service. The whole scheme goes wrong which leads to a couple of unnecessarily brutal murders.

The star-studded cast might be the only reason people show up at the box office. The acting is intended to look like overacting, making the whole movie purposefully unbelievable. Though it is mildly entertaining to watch Pitt girlishly dance on a treadmill, the characters however are underdeveloped and fit into an exaggerated mold (typical move by the Coen Brothers, think Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?).

So what's the point ?

Pitt plays a bouncy, energetic, almost feminine gym trainer who simply doesn't fit the role. Clooney's tacky playboy antics are all too cliche, and McDormand's middle aged, dumbed-down blonde role is unimpressive. The intense facial expressions for non-dramatic scenes (paired with the theatrical music) make the actors look cheesy. And even though the actors succeed in portraying these characters, the outlandish, overdamatic roles take away from their credibility.

The theme of Burn After Reading is unclear and the plotline so chaotic, it's difficult to find motif, if there is one. The overall presence of loneliness, selfishness, and superficiality in American life might be a theme undermined by the movie's stupidity. The scrambled plot stutter-steps through each scene making you believe there will be some profound "ah-ha" moment; instead, it leads us to Harry's mystery spy contraption, which ends up being a dildo chair.

Also, everyone is cheating on everyone. But even within the love affairs, the characters' chemistry is distant. Osbourne's wife (Tilda Swinton) is a "cold, stuck up bitch" who we don't get to know at all throughout the movie. We don't get to know any of the characters really, beyond their phony exterior, nor do the characters get to know each other. The only loner worthy of human connection is Ted Treffon (Richard Jenkins), Linda and Chad's boss, who is chastised in the movie as a negative person even though he is the most optomistic character with his puppy-dog eyes and in his hesitancy to pursue Linda.

There is a lack of sensitivity to prove all the negative aspects of life: Osbourne's anger and alcoholism, Harry's cockiness and paranoia, Linda's self-conscience body image, and the CIA's overall stupidity and disinterest. This Coen Brothers' tactic is clever in the sense that the character's involvement and distant interaction further demonstrates arrogance and self absorption. But if you weren't looking for this theme, you'd probably simply yawn.

Had the unmemorable humor actually been funny, the movie might be entertaining. Overall, the Coen Brother's make a sarcastic statement about America's general lifestyle. The point is we're all narcissistic idiots. Thanks for the lesson.

Check it out: Burn After Reading - Coen Brothers' Official Site

Burn After Reading Trailer

2 comments:

Lola said...: For Alex: Your last paragraph gave me the HA! chuckle I like to have when done reading a scathing review, so thanks for that! Otherwise, I thought your opinion was clear and well-mixed with the plot summary and character eval, which, to me, is the most important part in film reviews. It's sad that actors like Brad Pitt and George Clooney felt the need to resort to such baseless humor for extra cash. I did think the subhead sounds a bit out of context, something that would have fit better in a food review or a movie review about steaks or something (it could happen..) I also thought your plot summary did get lengthy at times and that there could be more colorful ways of making some of your statements. Nevertheless, your opinion is clear and in a review, there's not much more you can ask for. Again, nice dash of sarcasm at the end.

For the blog creators: Personally, I liked the previous banner of the cornbread, but this works too. It definitely drives the theme of the blog home, so kudos to whoever took the photo - it looks professional. Nice to see the background a different color as well (and not just 'cause it was identical to another blog...) :); December 10, 2008 at 7:39 PM
Hipster-Bullshit Feedback-Playlist said...: So I know this is my own review, but I wasn't sure where to comment on the entire blog! But guys, job well done (no pun intended) with the food/movie buffet idea. It is an odd association but the more bizarre and random associations are, the better, at least I surely think so. Creative. And in seeing the finalized opening picture: touche! It fits perfectly, incorporating all the elements. Though I really did like the idea of a sloppy TV dinner, whosever idea that was in class. Also, I like sidebars that help a reader navigate throughout the site as well as to links to other related sites. I like it guys.

Alex Berry; December 11, 2008 at 1:37 PM

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Our two cents worth...

I judge. There, I admit it. I judge everything. People? Check. Cars? Check. You name it, I judge it.

But don't judge me for the way I pass my day. You do it to. That's right; you judge everyday, all day. Now, you may disagree. You may say I am crazy. I do not care because I know I am right. Every one of us is a critic. It is just that a select few are paid to dispense their judgments on a particular movie, television show or new restaurant.

I am a critic. I critique all day at any part in the day. I critique the sunrise, the weather, the traffic, the parking spot I secured, the hills of the campus, the morning newspaper headlines, the leaves on the ground, the taste of my morning coffee… the list will cease to end.

Prior to this course, I was under the impression that all professional critics are arrogant and narcissistic. Even though that may still remain true, it was an inaccurate assumption on my part. The role of a critic is a tough one and not one I would like to hold. Granted, in this market, I would gladly accept any job that came way. I would even salt the French fries at McDonald's at this point. Hypothetically, if I was offered the position of a movie critique I would approach my job with one simply philosophy: did I escape? The arts as an institution are outlets to disregard the pressure of everyday. Blocking out the distractions that come each sun-up may be only for a few hours but, nevertheless, they have been put on the back-burner. As a critic, I would be more favorable towards a production if it enabled me to forget the real world. When we go to the movies and turn on the television, the American people do not care to be inundated with the deplorable state of the economy. It is simple. They want to be entertained.

A critic is a gatekeeper, a follower, a narcissist, a daredevil and a coward.

A critic is someone who must have good vision or else a good eye doctor.

A critic must have a comfortable pair of pants.

A critic must never get cold in movie theatres.

A critic must have clogged arteries from the buttered movie theatre popcorn.

A critic must have a good memory.

A critic must strong a gluteus maximus to be able to sit for such a long period of time everyday.

A critic must keep in mind the vast array of audiences. From the west coast to east coast, there are quite a vast amount of people with alarmingly different tastes so a critic must be held accountable for the tastes of America.

A critic must be able to mold his/her craft for the ever-changing technological advances.

A critic will always have a job.

- Elizabeth Ezzell

December 10, 2008

I do not like many online critics, even though I count myself among them, because the Internet provides several crutches to writers. The shield of anonymity, for instance, allows those who contribute and those who comment to attack and not face rebuttal. In addition, online music powerhouses often let hyperlinks, humorous videos and facile puns, rather than carefully considered and edited work, attract readers to the site. On the other hand, the Internet democratizes voice, opinion and even identity. In that respect, it allows readers to collect and aggregate the thoughts of others.

The role of the critic in any medium should be to describe, contextualize and evaluate the work at hand accurately without stifling his or her voice and style. I’ve learned in this course that the first step in editing a review is making sure the most basic elements read cleanly and clearly. Consumers of the critic’s product, be it in print or online, evaluate the evaluation—they are two degrees removed from the source and seek an opinion about whether they should take that extra step to purchase, stream or download. Most important of all, a review should consider that there is a person behind the creation of cultural products and people behind the huge totals that consume it. To treat either group with contempt is to invalidate the title of “critic”—at that point, you are writing for yourself, not for an audience or for the furthering of artistic discourse.

Another important concept to remember is that the criticism is an art form in its own right. The famous quotation attributed to Elvis Costello, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture—it’s a really stupid thing to want to do,” simply represents an unjustified opinion. A well-crafted criticism opens a work, highlighting parts that others might not have noticed, understood or appreciated. I have read articles that forced me to return to a CD or movie and alter my own way of thinking about them. I have read others that infuriated me and made me want to steer the open conversation and reading back on track. The difference between a review and a criticism is that one can distill a review to a number or letter grade. An “A” means the work is exceptional. Three stars out of five means you can take it or leave it. “Two thumbs up” means you’d better take that description off your review unless you plan on paying Roger Ebert for it.

Regardless about how I feel about them individually, the number of critics should swell not shrink. As publications streamline their staffs and slash their budgets, they start to print bland pieces from wire services. I hope that publications continue to pay writers for thoughtful criticism, and readers should buy magazines and newspapers more often to ensure that. A huge part of supporting the arts is paying the people who criticize it, lampoon it and share it.

- Alex Dimitropoulos

December 10, 2008

Ahh, criticism. At first the word makes me think of dusty library tomes discussing the merits and faults of certain painfully boring pieces of literature. Or perhaps a teacher’s less-than-favorable comment on a piece of my work, leading to profound resentment and numerous unfair insults behind the back of said teacher.

Though my thoughts jump immediately to scholarly criticism, the word “criticism” means so much more than that. Random House defines criticism as “the act of passing judgment as to the merits of anything.” According to this definition, I criticize things day in and day out. I mock the clothing combinations of fashion-challenged peers, I complain about TV shows and movies and restaurants, and interestingly, I usually always gloss over the fact that I am, in fact, critiquing the world around me.

It’s easy and fun to come up with mean-spirited critiques, but sometimes, criticism can (and should) be positive. However exploited and hackneyed it may seem on the whole, pop culture still has its redeeming works; you just have to sift through a lot of mediocrity to find them. But criticism cannot (and should not) always include the positive. It is the duty of a published critic to veer away from Mother’s advice that “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Whether the creator is friend, foe, or unknown, a critic must not be afraid to rip apart someone else’s book, TV show, or restaurant if it warrants such a negative response. And it is here that I falter as a critic.

I was excited to take critical writing because I wanted to find my writer’s voice that had not yet emerged. It emerged, all right, and I found out that it’s a big fat wuss.

My critic’s voice is a subdued one, one that struggles to place a negative comment without countering it with a positive one. I wrote a few negative reviews this semester, but I always found myself searching for a silver lining, some kind of redemption. I would feel unnecessarily guilty, even with the knowledge that the creators would never read my work nor be concerned with the inconsequential opinion of an unpublished college student.

Criticism should always come from an open mind and with the intention of identifying and evaluating the true essence of a work – and of course, that won’t always happen. But even if it doesn’t live up to that ideal, public criticism of the arts is important. It helps us establish our likes and dislikes, stimulates interesting conversation, and gives us a point of comparison for our own opinions. Critics are the harbingers of pop culture, and we seek their voices, whether in the New York Times, on rottentomatoes.com, or from the mouths of our friends and family. And we will continue to seek their voices. Though increasingly in an easy, new, and unfiltered form on the Internet, I think criticism will always play an integral role in pop culture.

-Dana Zelman

December 11, 2008

Thank you, Grady College, for insisting I take critical writing before I graduate.

I was beginning to think that all journalism courses were the same and my last semester at UGA would be a bad rerun of previous writing courses. If it weren’t for my stressing about the necessity to score an A- in the class to maintain the cum laude honor come graduation day, the course would have been the most rewarding class (of any kind) that I have ever taken.

From the first time that we were asked to write a critique of an orange, to the similar cookie exercise several months later, my perspective has changed on what exactly it means to review something. I assume everyone criticizes, but only a select few hone in on their opinions to create and publish a review of something. We reviewed movies, tv shows, concerts, restaurants, theatrical performances, and books this semester with the helping guide of our professor, Mrs. Valerie Boyd. But we criticized much more than just those six reviews–just take a look at the comments left on our bogs!

I finally feel as though my writing has matured somewhat, even if I refuse to retire my sexual innuendos. I have found a writing outlet in which I can express myself in a conversational, amusing way, yet remain dignified and respected in the opinion I hold. The new-found freedom makes me want to apply for every possible critic job I can find even though I came into this class knowing I didn’t want to pursue journalism.

My enjoyment for critical writing has also led me to read more and more reviews before I see a movie or give a book a shot. Before this course, I assumed that the "two-thumbs up" tagline was genius and oh what a great job that would be to just say that to every movie you went to. I honestly thought this was what the role of the critic has boiled down to. If every newspaper and magazine in the nation wasn’t downsizing and kept some critics, perhaps the nation’s predetermined notions on the importance of an honest and reliable critic would be noted.

Unfortunately, I feel as though this class was one that I can happily say that I took in college before it was replaced by some sort of online reporting class. Critical writing is a dying breed, but I am overjoyed that I was able to be consumed by it for at least one semester.

And damn this blogger for not allowing me to have spaces in between paragraphs!

-Kamila Szoltysek
December 11, 2008

TV & Movie Buffet

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Burn After Reading

2 comments:

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