Movie Review: Burn After Reading

George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich and Brad Pitt? Number one at the box office its opening weekend? The Coen brothers writing, directing and producing? A hilarious trailer? I couldn't wait to see this movie Burn After Reading, but alas I missed it at the theaters and would wait for it to come out in DVD. That's cool I thought, there are bound to be great blooper out takes. Well no, there are no bloopers in the special features and sorry but that is the least of the disappointments I felt upon finally watching a movie I had anticipated for a couple of months.

Take a spy thriller and turn and twist it and flip it upside down; add characters that bar none are basically idiots and that is Burn After Reading. Add murder, the CIA and sex, along with Academy Award winning writers/directors, and superb actors, and one should have a riotous dark comedy. Nope.

I'm not sure what went wrong or when but somehow this movie fails big time.

Is it the acting? No, the actors do amazing things with the idiots they portray. Frankly, I love seeing George Clooney act like a nerdy, sex craved buffoon and the sight of Brad Pitt looking loony in his spandex and bad hair is hilarious. John Malkovich as the fired spy whose life unravels is awesome. Tilda Swinton as his cold hearted stuck up bitch of a wife is appropriately cold hearted, stuck up and bitchy. Frances McDormand is her quirky funny self and perfect for the part of the middle aged lonely and internet dating gym employee who somehow gets to have an affair with George Clooney. The supporting cast is equally competent. You'll recognize them as good solid actors from their work - Richard Jenkins who has been in scores of movies and played the dead father in HBO's Six Feet Under and J.K. Simmons played the father in Juno.

No, it's not the acting. I'm not sure if it's the writing or directing. All I'm sure of is that it was the longest 96 minutes on recent film, albeit punctuated with some giggles by a cast that tried their best. The first half was so slow that two out of the three other people who watched with me fell sound asleep. The other one kept giving me dirty looks. I decided to watch the features.

No bloopers to be had, but there are three features, one of which is the making of Burn After Reading. Everyone is laughing and having a grand old time making this movie. Let's blame it on the editing and forget it. In other words if you want to see for yourself, don't buy it, wait for it to hit HBO, but at least you can't say you weren't for-warned.