Hail, Caesar! (2016), PG-13, ★★1/2

George Clooney is kidnapped.

The Coen brothers have made one fantastic movie after another according to their resume but every time they make and write a film with their detailed and supreme imagination, their creativity blossoms into a foray of artistic and quirky mannerisms that the actors apply to to form the best movie they can make possible. My personal favorite movie from them is Fargo, which in my mind, is as perfect it can get. There are numerous original and exceedingly well-made films such as No Country For Old Men, Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, Inside Llewyn Davis, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, etc. However, with their newest and freshest idea, they have numerous attempts of quirkiness that seem to excel but somehow are not sewn on as tightly as it should be.

Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is a fixer for a movie studio called Capitol Pictures, keeping the actors' reputations safe. For example, he had to slap an actress to give her an alibi. He watches a rough cut of Hail, Caesar!, an epic centered around Jesus Christ,  in which famous actor Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) stars in the lead role of Autolycus. Eddie is seen talking to numerous clergymen of different religions regarding what their interpretation of Christ is and how the portrayal of Jesus Christ is being done properly without offending anyone's point of views.

Eddie is also involved in another production number, a Broadway adaptation called "Merrily We Dance" in which popular Western star, Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich) pulling off cool stunts against bad guys. Hobie meets with director, Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes), because he is struggling with pulling off a convincing British accent with a Southern drawl. Laurence complains to Eddie. Eddie also has to deal a pregnant actress, DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson) because she is experiencing discomfort during a mermaid water sequence, spelling out trouble for her image.

While all of this chaos is going on, more trouble ensues as Baird passes out from a drink and gets abducted. He wakes up in a house by the beach and walks into a room full of communist writers, who feels that they are cheated by the studio and want their dues and want to persuade Baird to join their cause plus Eddie receives a message demanding a $100,000 ransom for Baird's return. It becomes more skeptical and more apprehensive as more people in the studio fear for Baird's life.

We have to maintain the image. 

I admire more of the craftsmanship and comedic chops that the Coen brothers and actors put on screen than liking it because I felt that they were having too much fun living the 1950s era of decorum and wit with the typical dark situation of a ransom kidnapping by communist writers. The Coen Brothers' latest film is more towards the niche audience than the mainstream crowd, which unfortunately, this movie will not appeal to many because they simply will not understand the dark humor balanced with the post-war Hollywood humor.

Josh Brolin is the star of the movie who is given more to do than the rest of the cast. However, his performances are unfortunately overlooked because he is an actor of charisma and versatility and it is proven here once again. He is sublime. George Clooney is having so much fun playing this type of actor being some of Kirk Douglas-Charlton Heston archetype but sometimes, his humor falls flat as he goes over-the-top a little bit. There are little cameos from Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Ralph Fiennes and Alden Ehrenreich who are fantastic, especially the latter two in a hilarious scene.

The narrative is not showcased than much and not as tightly focused as the post-war Hollywood settings and costume design. That's the main problem: there's a lot more style than substance than we're using to seeing from the Coen brothers. The narrative is simple-minded as they tacked on another kidnapping for money. It's too serious for its own good with the kidnapping plot and the comedy gets inconsistent as they supply more of the zany jokes in the second half. This is one of their weakest movies but it is one of their funnest movies. However, I would not recommend people rush to the theaters to see it because they will not understand the gist of the whole product. The product is like kids playing in their cinematic playground, however, parents will not understand as to what they are pretending to do. I'd say this is more of a rental than a must-see. It's fun and admirable but I am not recommending it marginally.

**1/2