Guest Movie Review: Oh, Brother, Where ArtThou?

Story: The latest weird flick from the Coen brothers (Blood Simple, Fargo) is very loosely based on Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey-only it's set in the South during the 1930s. Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney), Pete (John Turturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson)--all peculiar characters--escape from a chain gang, supposedly to pursue a buried treasure. Along the way, they encounter hucksters of all kinds, and their mission is imperiled. It's a bizarre film, without much of a plot. But it has a sense of humor (albeit offbeat-Everett's obsessive use of Dapper Dan hair pomade is a running joke), and like most Coen movies, it's visually stunning. I tend to like the Coen brothers' work, but I felt a little like I wasn't in on the joke of this one. Brush up on your Homer before you go see the flick.

Acting: The acting was quite good-everyone was appropriately wacky. Also, I am not fond of George Clooney, but he wasn't bad in this (though his teeth were waaaaaay too Hollywood white for a Depression-era drifter).

Pets: There is not good news in this department. A couple of cows really suffer during a car-chase scene, and gophers are served for dinner at one point. Also, a frog gets squished.

Food: See above. (As far as food at the theater is concerned, I got some yucki gummi bears, and Judy bought a large popcorn, which turned out to be refillable. Judy and Rich, determined to get a refill (just for the sport of it), ate the popcorn with gusto, and just before the lights dimmed, Rich ran out and got the bag topped off. By the bottom of the first bag, of course, we were all feeling sick (although Judy 'aims' to eat concession food until she feels nauseous), so we didn't make terribly good progress on the second round. Still, it was satisfying to get something for free at a commercial theater.)

Visual Art: The Depression was a really good age for American art, but none of it is seen in this flick.

Soundtrack: Excellent. Country, bluegrass, folk, and gospel. Possibly worth buying the soundtrack, whether you see the movie or not.

Titles: Not memorable.

Theater Audience: A nightmare on 13th Street. The guy behind me kicked my seat incessantly throughout the movie, despite my turning around and giving him the evil eye twice. Idiot. Otherwise, I found the sold-out room unremarkable, but the capacity crowd stunned Judy, who mostly goes to the movies during the day.

Sappy Factor: 3.

Quirky Meter: 10.

Oscar Worthy: Maybe for art direction or similar.

Nit Picking: I don't have any nits to pick with this movie, so instead I'll engage in some shameless self-promotion. Check out my movie-review Website: www.sarahsmo.com ! If you like the movie opinions you read there, feel free to sign up on the site for free email delivery of the irregularly posted (but witty)! reviews.

Big Screen or Rental: Big screen for sure. The visuals would be lost on video.

Length: 106 minutes (well inside the Lobo two-hour rule).

LOBO/MILLIE HOWLS: 6.5.