The Ladykillers Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)March 29th, 2004
"The Ladykillers" Is More Odd than Funny by Homer Yen
(c) 2004
Did you ever notice that a funny-looking costume doesn't necessarily make the person funnier? In fact, it could become a distraction. It's no longer a comedy act; it's more of an oddity. The same can be said of "The Ladykillers," a cruel comedy which feels like more of an oddity than a comedy. It's gift-wrapped in such a way that you notice the exterior and not so much the contents.
To understand that, you have to look no further than Tom Hanks's character, Professor Dorr, a somewhat mousey but lyrically soothing shyster. His demeanor invokes Edgar Allen Poe. He speaks with the grace of a bard. He looked like my old-fashioned 8th grade English teacher. He laughs with an asthmatic chortle. What a strange fellow he is. He can regale you with his skills as a raconteur. He can simultaneously annoy you to no end with his penchant for sesquipedalian words. Perhaps there truly are people that can score a perfect score on the English portion of the SATs. His eccentricities, however, detract from the story. He's just too bizarre.
Perhaps that's the goal of this comedy. Yet it works so hard to give us an array of over-the-top characters that everything seems out of whack. There's a foul-mouthed custodial worker (Marlon Wayans); a stoic, chain smoking soldier (Tzi Ma); an oafish dimwit (Ryan Hurst); and a demolition expert who is hampered by his loose bowels (J.K. Simmons). And of course, the Professor tops them all. All five seem to have nothing in common. And thus the film never really jells. Furthermore, they look completely out of place in this setting, the God-loving gospel South. The entire film, at best, achieves a state of awkwardness.
But the film has a certain charm if you know where to look. This band of able miscreants has gathered to pull off an improbable heist of a local casino. To do that, they need to gain the acceptance of Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall), the grandmotherly soul whose home is critical to providing the perfect entry and escape route.
Hers is the best-defined role of the film. As a church-going widow high on life and on Jesus, she's the perfect caricature for this time and place. It's hilarious to watch, for example, as she disciplines the foul-mouthed member by slapping him silly. "There'll be no hippity-hop language here!" she exclaims as she delivers a backhand to his face.
In general, I find the humor of the Coen Brothers (who were the writers behind this film as well as "Intolerable Cruelty" and "O Brother Where Art Thou") hard to appreciate. All throughout, I sensed that there were plenty of moments when the film alluded to other meanings or thoughts or imageries. Some in the audience openly chuckled. Others kept looking for a reason to laugh. You'll certainly find Hanks's performance amusing throughout. You'll enjoy the twisted final act, as the group tries to engineer their getaway. But for the most part, it a hit-or-miss kind of film. For me, it was mostly a miss as well as amiss.
Grade: C
S: 0 out of 3
L: 3 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3
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