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Pitch: The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) Production Budget: $40 million Total Domestic: $2,816,518 Critical darlings since the mid-80s, Joel & Ethan Coen had every right to expect The Hudsucker Proxy to finally break them into the Hollywood mainstream. Everything was in place: A script they had been workshopping with their buddy Sam Raimi for nearly a decade; a producer, Joel Silver, willing to put serious money behind the project; and a cast featuring Paul Newman and rising stars Tim Robbins and Jennifer Jason Leigh. When the film finally arrived, it landed with a resounding flop. It's not difficult to see why, either. When offered the chance to finally direct a big studio picture, the Coens opted instead to make one of the most esoteric, oddball homages to Hollywood's golden age that moviegoers at the time had ever seen. The film is predominantly a love letter to the films of Frank Capra and Preston Sturges, turning Capra's idealism on its ear to present a world that is darkly cynical toward big business. The film features characters who do nothing but talk circles around one another, waxing philosophic about business and how to measure a man's worth, all the while the film's lead bumbles through every scene, barely able to get a word in edgewise. This is a manic, aggressive film, one that takes immense glee in its sheer spectacle, and seems only too eager to please an audience that simply wasn't interested. It also serves as a warning from the Coens to themselves. As much as this film depicts the business world as a big, goofy machine, it also serves as a fairly apt metaphor for the film industry. Young, fresh-faced filmmakers leave home for the Big City hoping to change the world with their ideas, and wind up going stark raving mad after losing it all. When given the chance to work with a studio-sized budget, the Coens seemed to intentionally shoot themselves in the foot by making a film as out-of-step with the times as humanly possible. This is the angle I'd like to explore, actually. As big and bloated as this film is, it's too precise in its execution to simply be a misfire. I'd like to examine The Hudsucker Proxy and its place in the Coens' oeuvre. Was this simply a case of the Coens branching out too far too quickly, or was this a flop by design?
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Sep 2, 2013 18:44
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 06:30 |
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Sheldrake posted:... have you ever watched a Frank Capra movie? I love Hudsucker Proxy, but it fits right in the Capra Mr. Deeds mold without any necessary ear turning. Yeah, after going back and watching a couple of his films again yesterday, I realize how silly that statement is.
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Sep 3, 2013 16:03
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Oh wow. I hadn't checked the thread since before Halloween, so I just assumed I missed the deadline. My essay was really not turning out the way I'd hoped and I abandoned it thinking there was no way it was going to right itself in time. Now that I know there's still a little time, I'm going to try taking one more pass at it tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully something will finally click.
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Nov 7, 2013 14:43
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