Hail, Caesar!

Joel and Ethan Coen have done a Hollywood satire before in Barton Fink, and they've made George Clooney act like a buffoon before (Clooney has called O Brother Where Art Thou, Intolerable Cruelty, and Burn After Reading his "idiot trilogy"). But there is no movie quite like the tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood that is Hail, Caesar!

Clooney's character, actor Baird Whitlock, isn't actually the main character in this, that honor belongs to Josh Brolin's Eddie Mannix. Mannix is a "fixer" at 1950s Hollywood studio Capitol Pictures, whose job it is to keep all his directors and actors happy and out of gossip-worthy trouble. When Baird Whitlock gets kidnapped off the set of the latest religious epic, Mannix chooses to quietly pay off the ransom. I won't mention who the kidnapping group turn out to be, as that reveal leads to some of the best material in this movie.

As many stars as there are on the Coens' poster, most of them don't show up for more than a scene or two, and relative unknown Alden Ehrenreich gets almost as much screen time as Clooney. Ehrenreich plays an actor who talents are well suited to stunt-filled westerns, but struggles when cast in Laurence Laurentz's (Ralph Fiennes) costume drama. Scarlett Johannsen is an Esther Williams type whose pregnancy throws Mannix into reputation-protection mode. Channing Tatum is a performer in a navy musical whose dance scene is truly stunning. Also among them: Tilda Swinton as twin reporters (one for a legit paper and one for a gossip rag), Frances McDormand as a film editor, and Jonah Hill in a cameo I feel I shouldn't say a word about. While Mannix is putting out fires all over Capitol Pictures, he's also being tempted to leave the studio and join the Lockheed Corportation.

I'm pretty confident that I haven't revealed anything that would take away from one's enjoyment of Hail, Caesar! because most of the humor comes from how these situations unfold and intersect. You might have to had seen movies from that bygone era to appreciate some of the jokes, but I think there's something for everyone. This isn't the best comedy the Coen brothers have made but that's a high bar; I do think it will stand as one of the funniest of 2016.

Fool and The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore

 I first encountered Christopher Moore with the book Lamb, which Liz reviewed earlier this year. In that book, the protagonist Biff gives us an irreverent and sex-obsessed view of Biblical times. In Fool and The Serpent of Venice, the jester Pocket provides a similar look at a more Shakespearean era.

Fool is basically a retelling of King Lear from the jester's point of view. Pocket is in love with Lear's youngest daughter Cordelia, and when she does not get a share of the kingdom that is left to her sisters, Pocket schemes to exact revenge on the king and win Cordelia's heart. If you're not familiar with Shakespeare's original play, well I'm not going to go into the whole plot here. Suffice it to say, in Fool it turns out that Pocket (with help from his dimwitted apprentice, Drool) was behind most of the tragic occurrences and jealousy among the three sisters, as he shags the lot of 'em. He obtains three doses of a love potion from the witches of Macbeth fame, and uses these to manipulate the women to desire whoever is most convenient.

The more recent novel The Serpent of Venice combines elements of Othello and The Merchant of Venice with the Edgar Allen Poe story "The Cask of Amontillado." Pocket remains our main narrator, though some passages are told in third person, and an omniscient Chorus pops in to introduce certain scenes and otherwise annoy the other characters in a fourth-wall-breaking manner. Not long after finding out his beloved Cordelia has died, Pocket's misfortune continues when he's thrown in a dungeon.

These books will appeal to Shakespeare fans who don't mind the idea of the Bard's plays being ripped apart and thrown together by a prankster. As I have implied, both are occasionally sexually explicit when Shakespeare was subtle about such matters. It's a sense of humor that will appeal to the naughty teenager in you. I don't think Christopher Moore is for everyone, but for those who like a combination of highbrow and lowbrow, there is nobody like him.

For more about the author and his books, check out Christopher Moore's website.

Lamb by Christopher Moore

I decided to read this book for two reasons: (1) I tend to like a story told from a different perspective (like John Gardner's Grendel and Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl) and this one is humorously told by Jesus' childhood friend who saw him as a man, not as a savior (author's notes). In other words, I like the narrator. And (2) it answers a question from one of my favorite movies, Dogma: "Jesus suddenly goes from age twelve to thirty ... Where are the volumes of text dealing with the missing eighteen years?"

I enjoyed this book. It reads, not surprisingly, like a memoir: the narrator (Levi bar Alphaeus who is called Biff) alternates between talking generally about what is happening (either in the present writing or in the past reflecting on or introducing a scene) or the actual happening. I found that the material handled really well; and it helps that Moore does not attack or question Christianity as a religion or Christ, he's just telling a story. I think that (making it seem like this could've really happened in this way) makes the story the most compelling.

I think with books that I don't like, or don't like as much, I have way more to say but with this book I'm pretty much done talking. I liked it and I think if the subject matter interests you and you have the time, you should read it.

Visit Christopher Moore's website for more information about the author and how to purchase his books.