The Ladykillers (2004)

Directors:

Ethan Coen
Joel Coen

Writers (WGA):

William Rose (movie "The Ladykillers")
Joel Coen (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 marzo 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Frase comercial:

The greatest criminal minds of all time have finally met their match.

Plot:

An eccentric, if not charming Southern professor and his crew pose as a band in order to rob a casino, all under the nose of his unsuspecting landlord: a sharp old woman.

Plot Keywords:

Dumb Criminal | Accidental Shooting | Shot To Death | Deep South | Profanity

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

For a Coen Brothers film, his ranks as a disappointment

Cast

Tom Hanks	...	Professor G.H. Dorr
Irma P. Hall	...	Marva Munson
Marlon Wayans	...	Gawain MacSam
J.K. Simmons	...	Garth Pancake
Tzi Ma	...	The General
Ryan Hurst	...	Lump Hudson
Diane Delano	...	Mountain Girl
George Wallace	...	Sheriff Wyner
John McConnell	...	Deputy Sheriff
Jason Weaver	...	Weemack Funthes
Stephen Root	...	Fernand Gudge
Lyne Odums	...	Rosalie Funthes (as Baadja-Lyne Odums)
Walter K. Jordan	...	Elron (as Walter Jordan)
George Anthony Bell	...	Preacher
Greg Grunberg	...	TV Commercial Director

También conocida como:

Quinteto de la muerte, El (Argentina) (International: Spanish title) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for language including sexual references.

Duración:

104 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

English | Vietnamese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sonido:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Clasificación:

South Korea:15 | Malaysia:U (cut version) | France:U | Malaysia:18SX (uncut version) | Iceland:12 | Malta:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:14A | Chile:TE | Czech Republic:U | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:MG6 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:T | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #40668)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivialidades:

When the group is debating various methods to kill Mrs. Munson, Professor Dorr suggests shackling her in an earthen recess in the wall and enclosing it with the leftover bricks and mortar they have available. This is a reference to "A Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe, whom Dorr cites frequently throughout the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: Pancake's injured hand is no longer taped after the robbery when they talk about how to kill the old lady.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sheriff Wyner: Unh... Oh! Afternoon, Miss Munson.
Marva Munson: Afternoon, Sheriff. You know the Funthes boy?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Benchwarmers (2006)

Soundtrack:

Weeping Mary

For a Coen Brothers film, his ranks as a disappointment

Is there a Hollywood tandem that is more misinterpreted or under appreciated than the director brother team of Ethan and Joel Coen? Over the years, their filmography has included an eclectic group of entries that have introduced us to some of the strangest characters this side of a David Lynch television special. Remember how weird Barton Fink was when we first me him? How strange was the musical number featuring the Dude in The Big Lebowski? And was there any better way of watching Raising Arizona than alone and under an influence? Add to the mix their more popular entries like O Brother Where Art Thou, Fargo and Blood Simple, and you have a brother team that has given us one unique vision after another for the past 20 years. In fact, their style has attracted some of Hollywood's A-list talent including Jeff Bridges, George Clooney and Nicholas Cage. So when their 2004 film remake of The Ladykillers was announced, it was not much of a surprise that none other than Mr. Revered Tom Hanks attached himself to the project in the starring role.

I will admit to not having seen the original Ladykillers starring Alec Guinness, but I don't think I am at a loss due to this oversight. The 2004 edition stars Hanks as Professor G.H Dorr, a refined gentleman with a southern droll that enlists the aide of four other misfits in effort to steal money from the Riverside casino vault. Their plan is simple. First, Dorr rents a room from an elderly black woman (Irma P. Hall), and then under the guise of a band practice, the group beings to tunnel from the basement of the house to the casino's counting room. Simple right? Not with this cast of morons, and never ever ever in a Coen film.

To understand the obstacles, we must first understand the dynamics of the group. There is the explosives expert, Garth (J.K. Simmons) who seems both confident and careless at the same time. There is The General (Tzi Ma), a chain-smoking Asian responsible for tunneling to the riverside. We have the token black guy in Gawain (Marlon Wayans) and finally, the dunce Lump (Ryan Hurst) who is hired more for his brawn than his brain. Together, they complete a team of would-be criminals that couldn't be more different in their personalities or character traits than the cast of Survivor All-Stars.

The heist in itself is ingenious, but before long, the intangible comes into play in the character of Irma P. Halls' Marva Munson. Marva is a church going individual who doesn't stand for foul language, violence or even smoking. The thought of a group of men hiding out in her basement seems to intrigue her, and her interest in their matters will soon lead to a discussion within the group on how best to deal with Ms. Munson.

The rest of the movie, without spoiling it for you wanna-seers, surrounds the groups efforts to dig the tunnel and steal the money all the while trying to hide their intended scheme from the curious old lady up the stairs.

In the hands of the Coen's, The Ladykillers shaped up to be one of this years must sees. Unfortunately, the end result left much of the audience trying to gauge their eyes out or at the very least, scratching their heads wondering where it all went wrong. But it's not for lack of trying. Neither is it one specific thing that brought the movie down to a two star rating. The story was interesting if not original, and the black humor of the Coen's was present in every other scene. Garth's problem with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) was a bit too hokey for my tastes, but generally, it does look like everyone was having fun.

The issue might be in the director's indecision as to the type of movie he was trying to make. Was it a heist film? A comedy? It would almost have worked as a good family type caper had it not been for the Gawain character that spews off mother f****ers often enough to issue the film a Restricted rating. This lack of a truly defined direction left me with a feeling that all the ideas were just thrown into a melting pot and this was the result. There are good scenes and bad, but the end result leaves a stale taste in your mouth (which could have been the popcorn, I must concede).

One thing that did take my notice is the films' deaths. And there are a handful. The Coen's have always brought us memorable demises (remember the Wood Chipper in Fargo?), and in Ladykillers, as the members fall to the hands of their own greed one by one, they are offed in a way that made me laugh and was unique enough to go on their wall of accomplishments alongside the flood in O Brother Where Art Thou or Dan Hedaya in Blood Simple.

So if I was forced to watch the film history of the Coen's, I would have to put this film towards the bottom just above Intolerable Cruelty. Tom Hanks may have tried to stretch our his dynamically changing characters film-to-film just one step too far. His southern drawl and eccentric Professor G.H Dorr may not be one of the characters that he looks fondly upon when we are doing Hank's retrospectives 25 years from now. And if he doesn't…why should we?