Random Plug for Barry (O Brother Where Art Thou Movie Review)
Kat and Ryley review O Brother Where Art Thou and tap into their love of Southern hijinks. The soundtrack alone is worth a listen!
Review Overview: Certified "Watch It With Your Dad" Movie.
This movie is beautiful, hilarious, and captivating.
It is insanely quotable and has the Coen Brothers' staple of needing multiple rewatches to get the most from it. You will notice something new every time.
Being from the South will most likely add to your viewing experience.
Kat and Ryley: 10/10
kat 0:23
Hello and welcome to Easy Bake Takes the Podcast. The podcast where we read you the one star reviews of your favorite movies and more. I'm Kat
ryley 0:32
and I'm Ryley
kat 0:33
and this week, what did we watch?
ryley 0:35
We watched O Brother Where Art Thou?
kat 0:37
Yes, we did. A little bit of background information about O Brother Where Art Thou? It was rated PG 13 It was released December 22 of 2000. It has an hour and 42 minute runtime and it's classified, on Google at least, as a comedy musical but it is a Coen Brothers movie. So it can be classified as a bunch of other things at the same time. Did you watch this movie growing up because I did a lot with my family?
ryley 1:00
I think I started watching it around either middle school or high school age. First time I saw it, I probably watched it a bunch over and over and over again, in a small amount of time.
kat 1:11
For me this was my family's favorite movie. So I've been watching it all of my life. So the plot of this movie is it's loosely based on Homer's the Odyssey, having the opening quote be the actual opening line from the book, and it follows Ulysses Everett McGill and his companions Delamar and Pete in 1937, rural Mississippi. The trio escaped from a chain gang and are headed to Everett's home because he told them that he was trying to recover some treasure when in reality, he's trying to stop his wife from getting remarried. The trio encounters a lot of interesting characters, some of which being characters that are related to the Odyssey such as the sirens, the Cyclops being Big Dan and Pappy O'Daniel who is actually filling in as the part of Zeus in The Odyssey. And aside from that, they run into a Klan rally and other high jinks on their way. This movie was written and directed by Ethan and Joel Cohen, who you might know best for Big Lebowski, True Grit, or No Country for Old Men. They also work with cinematographer Roger Deakins, who has worked with them on the films that were listed as well as most recently doing the cinematography for the movie 1917. As I said earlier, it's adapted from the Odyssey. The cast includes George Clooney playing Everett, John Turturro playing Pete, Tim Blake Nelson playing Delmar, John Goodman paying Big Dan, Holly Hunter playing Penny, Chris Thomas King playing Tommy Johnson, Charles Durning playing Pappy O'Daniel and Wayne Duvall playing Homer Stokes.
ryley 2:45
Oh, it's a full cast. It's amazing.
kat 2:47
It's you know, Coen Brothers movie regulars. And then I have a little bit of trivia, not a little bit, I have a lot of trivia. So the title of the movie is actually a reference to Preston Sturges 1941 film Sullivan's Travels, in which the main character has a director trying to make a movie called Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou? The film actually is the first film to use digital color correction for its entire duration. Everett's cabin at the end that they show is actually modeled after the cabin and Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead.
ryley 3:21
Oh my gosh, that's so cool.
kat 3:23
Yeah, because the Coen brothers are actually friends with Sam Raimi. So they were just like, they threw it in as a little joke with him.
ryley 3:28
I didn't know that that's so cool.
kat 3:30
Yeah. A kind of funny fact is that the American Humane Association thought that they actually were harming the cows in the movie because it looked so real.
ryley 3:38
No, it does not. Well the when they're shooting at them,
kat 3:45
Yeah.
ryley 3:45
That that does actually look real. I will give them credit. That's some good, not good, but it's like it looks realistic, but, when the car hits the cow that looks that's some crappy CGI.
kat 3:56
Yeah, that's the one that was mentioned too, when the cop car hits the cow.
ryley 3:59
Oh god that did not look
kat 3:59
They thought that was really convincing. Also, I didn't know this but patio Daniel is like based on a one time Texas governor, who also went on to be a senator I think, who was also named Pappy O'Daniel and he had like his campaign was based on like selling flour. Almost exactly the same as Pappy O'Daniel in the movie.
ryley 4:21
That is so funny. Well, when you have a name like pappy O'Da- that just- that's a funny name.
kat 4:26
That's a fucking southern governor
ryley 4:28
That is a 1930s name right there.
kat 4:30
Another thing is that the soundtrack itself actually surpassed the film and its success. And by 2001 It sold 5 million copies, had a documentary film made about it, had three follow up albums, two concerts and won a Country Music Award for Album of the Year. And the song man of constant sorrow, won song of the year, and it also won five Grammys, including Album of the Year
ryley 4:54
That's insane. It won Album of the Year?
kat 4:56
At the Grammys, yeah.
ryley 4:58
Holy crap that is- I didn't know that. I knew the soundtrack was successful, but I didn't know to that extent. That's crazy.
kat 5:04
I saw something that said at one point it was number one on the billboards, top 100 chart. At some point, I think like a few months after the movie came out and made it to number one.
ryley 5:14
That's insane. Oh my god,
kat 5:16
It's a- it's a good fucking soundtrack, you know?
ryley 5:18
It is. We learned the songs to them.
kat 5:20
Yeah, I literally was playing those songs on guitar earlier today because of watching this movie.
ryley 5:26
Yeah, you learned them.
kat 5:27
Yeah, my sister actually, my older sister used to sing me the go to sleep you little baby.
ryley 5:33
I love that song.
kat 5:34
She used to sing that to me whenever I couldn't sleep as a kid. This movie actually was initially inspired by Wizard of Oz, but the brothers realized that it was- the story they were building was closer to the Odyssey. So they were just like, let's say it's the Odyssey. That's literally a quote from one of the Coen brothers like they just decided they're like, let's just say it's the Odyssey.
ryley 5:51
That's so funny that you accidentally created a story, not similar to the one you were aiming, but very similar to another one you were aiming for. There you go.
kat 6:00
To follow that fact, neither of them have actually read the Odyssey.
ryley 6:04
Oh my god.
kat 6:05
They only they only know about it from like, you know, it's a part of pop culture and like from other film adaptations of it. So it's not like they don't know the story. They just hadn't read it. And actually, Tim Blake Nelson was the only person on set who had actually read the Odyssey.
ryley 6:20
That doesn't surprise me, not even a little bit. He looks like someone who's read the Odyssey.
kat 6:24
I think he went to Brown and like studied literature or something like that.
ryley 6:29
Yeah.
kat 6:29
Yeah. And if they haven't read it at this point, that means that I have read the Odyssey and the Coen brothers haven't.
ryley 6:36
I always assume they were so I was like, they're so smart. Of course, they read the Odyssey, of course, they made their own adaptation. That's so funny, that just tells you like, just make a movie. If it's loosely based on something just say, just- just go with it, you know.
kat 6:48
Just run with it.
ryley 6:49
You don't have to- you don't have to actually do it.
kat 6:53
And then something about the intro of the movie: The people singing like that you hear over it, that's an old recording of an actual chain gang singing.
ryley 7:02
Wow.
kat 7:03
When George Clooney got the script sent to him, he sent it to his Uncle Jack, who was a tobacco farmer in Kentucky, and had him read the entire script into a tape recorder for him just so he could like figure out how he's supposed to sound and like,
ryley 7:17
Oh, like accent wise?
kat 7:18
I guess so. And just like how the sentences would be said by like a deep south person, and they actually flew his Uncle Jack out for the premiere. And that was the first time he had ever been on a plane.
ryley 7:31
Oh my gosh.
kat 7:32
I also have mentioned in here, a fact that you already know, is that like George Clooney’s mother Rosemary was like an amazing singer and known for her singing
ryley 7:40
Yes.
kat 7:41
And George Clooney was like, before they went into recording he practice really hard. But ultimately, his singing was dubbed over by Dan Tyminski, who was actually shown in the concert scene at the end playing the mandolin on stage. George Clooney's singing was just not- not what they needed.
ryley 7:58
You know what, it's really well done because you wouldn't know otherwise.
kat 8:02
Oh, yeah. In the Klan scenes, they had a lot of extras. And according to Joel Cohen, a lot of the extras were actually black actors.
ryley 8:10
Oh, wow.
kat 8:11
And then a few goofs that were listed on it's the IMDB page for this movie. If you don't know this, the rebel flag that's depicted at the kkk rallies in the movie, weren't actually used by the kkk until the 1960s because of the civil rights movement, that's something that's wrong in there. And then the song You Are My Sunshine wasn't actually recorded and released until 1940. So that song didn't exist by the time this movie was taking place. And then lastly, Baby Face Nelson died three years before this movie takes place. And he never actually robbed any banks in the South. He primarily robbed banks in the Midwest. And I think it was mentioned that he robbed a bank in San Francisco or something. But he never robbed banks in the south. So he wouldn't have been down there and he would have been dead.
ryley 8:57
Oh, by that time period, in the 30s.
kat 9:00
He had died in 1934.
ryley 9:02
Oh, okay.
kat 9:02
And the movie takes place in 1937.
ryley 9:05
I thought you were saying like, before the movie was made. I was like, he lived that long.
kat 9:09
Yeah, he died about 70 years before the movie was made.
ryley 9:14
Still a great character, though. It's like a little detail that's like, eh.
kat 9:18
Okay, that's all the trivia I have. So what did- I know you've seen this movie a lot of times, what did you take away from it watching it this time?
ryley 9:27
It's one- it's- it's one of those movies where I feel like I see something new every time I watch it. I catch a little quote, I catch a little thing someone does. And it just enriches the movie that much more much like most Coen Brothers movies, like.
kat 9:42
They have good rewatch value.
ryley 9:43
Exactly. It's like one of those things where like, I see something new every time I watch a Coen Brothers movie, this movie, of course, does that as well. I love the story in this movie. I love the characters. I love the dialogue. It's so quotable. I quote me and Austin, we quote it all the time, "come on in the water is fine." It is we say that all the time. It's fantastic. It's it's one of my favorite movies.
kat 10:08
I definitely I think my most quoted line from the movie is "damn we're gonna tight spot."
ryley 10:13
Yes I love this stuff much or "Oh my hair."
kat 10:18
Did you have anything that specific that you took any notes on or?
ryley 10:22
I love Del Mar he's my favorite character he is just- he's just so funny. Every everything he says is hilarious. I also want to do a little shout out to Steven Root. He's the radio station player. And he is so much fun to watch in anything he's in. He's in Barry, the Bill Hader show. He is in everything I've ever seen of him, he is so fantastic to watch. He is one of my favorite, so I just want to do a little a little appreciation for him.
kat 10:53
Yes, I agree. Sorry. I'm just trying to pull up his IMDB.
ryley 10:56
I couldn't again, I couldn't name another one. But he's in Barry. If you haven't watched Barry, go watch it for him, at least.
kat 11:02
Barry's great. I mean, also Bill Hader, yeah.
ryley 11:05
Exactly. Barry plug for no reason. I have no association to Barry whatsoever other than I'm a huge Bill Hader fan. That's it. Really the cast in this show is amazing.
kat 11:16
Are you still talking about Barry?
ryley 11:17
George Clooney is really good. Oh, no. I'm talking about the movie, sorry. Forgot to transition back to the movie. The cast and this is so amazing. George Clooney is fantastic. John Turturro. Oh my god, I love him. He's fantastic. He's in the new Batman. Tim Blake Nelson. He's fantastic. I love him. I've seen him in so many movies, none of which take place more, like the movie itself takes place passed 1950. He is always in like a period kind of piece.
kat 11:47
Yes. Even in holes. It's like it's set in like the 2000s, but.
ryley 11:51
It might as well be the western. John Goodman a force of nature.
kat 11:58
Truly.
ryley 11:59
That's all I'm gonna say about John Goodman, force of nature.
kat 12:01
Yes, I would agree. Is is that everything you have?
ryley 12:05
I just found out Holly hunters in that movie.
kat 12:07
Yeah
ryley 12:07
She's the wife.
kat 12:08
Yes.
ryley 12:08
I'd never put that together, never put that together. She's fantastic.
kat 12:11
Mrs. Incredible herself.
ryley 12:12
I know. Exactly.
kat 12:13
Okay, so that's all you have for right now.
ryley 12:16
For right now.
kat 12:17
So I only had a few things written down as well because it's like I-, you know, seen these this movie a lot of times, like it's it's not really one that I'm like pulling notes on, it's really just like appreciation for it.
ryley 12:30
I'm not even critiquing it either because I love all of it. So, I'm not really critiquing anything.
kat 12:34
Because like the reasons that we'll get into in a minute when we go to the critic reviews, the reasons people would critique it aren't really reasons that I have any- I don't have an issue with the things they critique it about. There's some- there are some topics like you know, race-related topics that we don't aren't really the people to talk about those.
ryley 12:50
Yeah
kat 12:51
And like I haven't looked into enough what those issues might be. So I'm not going to talk about those ones because that's not really my place to talk about. But some things that I did write down, the music really is the best thing about this movie. It's definitely a watch this with your dad movie. The person I watched this movie with the most.
ryley 13:10
A lot Coen Brothers movies are, so.
kat 13:11
They really are. They're dad movies, but like they have merit to them. It's not like some boring movie,
ryley 13:18
It's not a Quentin Tarantino film.
kat 13:19
It's not- it's not a Tarantino flick, you know, you're not going to get- you're not gonna have to be really uncomfortable sitting next to your dad watching this movie.
ryley 13:26
Yeah.
kat 13:28
Something I noticed that when I was watching it is that Everett is definitely not bathing, but he is still just sure just go ahead and add more pomade on top of your hair that'll that'll really put it together. But you're caked in dirt. So whatever. But yeah, your hair. Sure. You said basically, like you know, you- you notice new things. You hear new quotable things from the movie, you notice new jokes. I think I've noticed this, but I just found it so much funnier this time. When, you know, they think Pete got turned into a frog. And Del Mar is sitting in the front. He's like, of course it's Pete, look at him.
ryley 14:04
Course it's Pete, look at him. I love that part. It makes me, oh that whole scene makes me cackle. It's so good.
kat 14:11
It's great. Yeah, that's really all I had written down.
ryley 14:13
Because again, I'm not pulling things apart. I'm just enjoying the whole thing, it's like-
kat 14:18
I would consider this a low stakes movie personally, because it's not really super plot heavy. It's really just like, high jinks and it's just-
ryley 14:27
Right, exactly. You're just doing the next thing to the next thing, but it's so good. It's entertaining.
kat 14:32
It is, it is. Anything else to add before we move on?
ryley 14:36
Not right now.
kat 14:37
Okay, so we'll move on to the critic reviews. I will say I tried to find negative ones and there are some that like are kind of negative, but most of them were dead links because this movie is from 2000. So it was a little hard to find as many reviews for it that still were up. So a lot of them are positive, for the most part, or like a little mixed, but I just want to say that so it doesn't seem like I'm only looking for positive reviews of this movie.
ryley 15:02
Yeah, you're not. Yeah, exactly.
kat 15:04
I'm not trying to be biased.
ryley 15:05
Yeah.
kat 15:06
So the first one I have is from CNN, and was written by Paul Tatara in 2001. And this review was titled "An Oddball Odyssey." So, Tatara says that this film's not really built around the narrative as much as it is built around nutty situations that the Coen brothers wanted to film. Says that the movie's funny, but inherently useless. Mentions that idiotic people using long words is a Coen Brothers trope, and references Raising Arizona, which like I agree, that is a thing they do.
ryley 15:40
I don't think that's a con though.
kat 15:42
See exactly, it's not a negative to us, but some people just don't like that, I guess. Still says that this movie was funnier than all of the other comedies that came out the same year, and that it was well casted. And that the Coen Brothers shoot, quote, "graceful, beautifully conceived footage," and also praises Roger Deakins's cinematography and Dennis Gassner's production design. You know, like it still seems like they understand that it has, it has stuff there going for it but I guess they just don't think it's award deserving. Even though it did, it won, some of the actors when Golden Globes and stuff like that for it, but.
ryley 16:22
Stupid characters using big words. That's funny.
kat 16:24
It's hilarious.
ryley 16:25
That's com- that's comedy. I don't know what-
kat 16:28
Obviously, they thought it was funny because they said it was funnier than all of the other comedies that came out that year.
ryley 16:32
Yeah, exactly.
kat 16:34
But they just don't think it's, I guess they don't think it's it should have as much merit. I don't know.
ryley 16:39
I'm- yeah.
kat 16:40
That's what I'm getting from it.
ryley 16:41
That's their opinion.
kat 16:44
It sure is. We'llmove on to the next one. It is from Q Network written by James Kendrick in 2011. This was for when it was released on Blu ray. He wasn't sure how to feel about the movie upon like the first watch, but mentions that Coen Brothers movies require multiple watches to get the most out of them.
ryley 17:01
True.
kat 17:02
And then mentioned that the film managed to maintain some of the Odysseys plot devices you know, like the sirens and the Cyclops. Says that it was beautifully shot and the technical aspects of the film were superb. And, quote, "O Brother, Where Art Thou? spends most of its time throwing absurdity up on the screen and hoping it sticks. The Coens, as always, Joel directed Ethan produced and they both wrote the screenplay, managed to maintain a genial slapstick tone that coats the ridiculous plot devices and outrageous characters and makes them just slick enough to swallow. After first seeing, and I wasn't sure how this meal would settle over time, but the years have proved that, while, not one of Coen's deeper films, it is certainly one that rewards multiple viewings," end quote.
ryley 17:45
Coen brothers movies, you need to watch them two to three times just to get- really get it all, get the most out of it.
kat 17:51
And I think that movies that have rewatch value are important to you know, like, I think that's a feat in and of itself.
ryley 17:58
Absolutely.
kat 17:59
I don't like movies that I will only watch one time. I'm not a huge fan of that.
ryley 18:03
Yeah.
kat 18:04
Like uncut gems. I'm only- I only wanted to watch that once.
ryley 18:07
I've seen that movie like 10 times. So it's like the opposite factor going on for that movie.
kat 18:11
I don't like being stressed out and mad at Adam Sandler. Okay. I don't like it.
ryley 18:18
That movie, the more for me, quick sidebar about uncut gems. The more I watched it, the more I found myself laughing at the movie not in a bad way. It's just like-
kat 18:28
Laughing at like the absurdity of it?
ryley 18:30
The absurdity of it. And just like remembering like, because the more you watch it, the less you not take it seriously, but like the more you let go on the anxiety of what's happening and just kind of just watch what's happening
kat 18:41
That makes sense.
ryley 18:41
Right? Because like, it's just one of those movies. The more I watched it, the more I realized I'm just going to enjoy what's happening.
kat 18:48
Yes, I guess you kind of desensitize yourself to it a little bit.
ryley 18:51
Honestly, that's probably the best way to describe what I do with that movie.
kat 18:55
That's fair. I don't I don't wanna. I don't wanna.
ryley 18:58
I totally understand. It took a while to get to that.
kat 19:01
My hands were sweaty at the end of the watching that movie the first time.
ryley 19:05
Right. I saw that movie on Christmas day with my dad.
kat 19:10
Is that a watch with your dad movie?
ryley 19:12
It is absolutely 100% not. Don't do it, don't do it. Just don't.
kat 19:18
I would agree.
ryley 19:19
It was a mistake. And he was so upset at the end. He was like I'm never never watching that movie again. Because he as- he gets like- he doesn't get stressed out in movies. When there's gambling going on. Oh my god, he can't.
kat 19:33
Is he just judging the gambling decisions the whole time?
ryley 19:37
It stresses him out. It really just stresses them out.
kat 19:39
Yeah, no, I get that. I guess I don't like- this is this has nothing to do with what we're talking about. But I just I'm gonna say it. I guess I just don't like movies or like characters that like their whole character is just, they will never make the right decision. Because I'm like, I can't root for you. I can't.
ryley 20:00
You want them to be rational at some point.
kat 20:03
Yeah, like you want them to snap out of it. It's realistic to like a gambling addiction.
ryley 20:08
Oh yeah, definitely. I think that's what's stressful about it's like, you know, people out there that exists like that they just live their lives like that.
kat 20:14
But moving back to O Brother Where Art Thou?
ryley 20:17
Sorry for that sidebar.
kat 20:18
Getting back to what we were talking about. The last critic review I have is from The Guardian and was written by Luke Buckmaster in 2020. For the 20th anniversary of the movie. Buckmaster says that the movie is absurdly entertaining and witty. They also praised the soundtrack. Says that the movie stood apart and its uniqueness. And quote, "an absurdist time capsule of a period that sort of existed and sort of didn't. The film's intellectualism is inseparable from its willing embrace of nothingness," end quote. And ends the review with, quote, "so much to love so much to revere, and yet trying to make sense of a Brother Where Art Thou? comes part and parcel with the sensation that one is being deliberately led down the garden path," end, quote. You can try and make sense of the movie, but it's pointless. You're not, it's not supposed to really make sense.
ryley 21:07
That's the whole thing. I don't think you should be. I don't want to say don't take it seriously because that's not what I mean. But it's like one of the things, let yourself- just let the movie take you where it's going.
kat 21:16
Look at the silly fun.
ryley 21:17
It's a quirky, quirky movie, acknowledge it, just acknowledge that it's not going to be it's it's not an accurate period piece. It's it's goofy. Let it be.
kat 21:28
It's definitely- I understand why some people might not like the movie, I wouldn't say nonsensical, but it's like, you know, like the first critics said, like, it's not contingent on the plot or the narrative. So it's really just like watching high jinks unfold. And seeing like goofy little scenarios and crazy characters and odd situations happen. And that's really all it is. It's not really something that has to make sense. And it's not intended to, you know, some people just don't like that. They want a narrative, they want a plot, they want something to follow.
ryley 21:58
And that's okay.
kat 21:59
All right, you're ready to move on to the audience. I'm gonna just say a few things that I found a lot. And I didn't include these reviews as much. A lot of people who didn't like the movie said that they didn't smile or laugh, once during it. Some people found that to be to be too long. And then there were just general complaints about it being based on the Odyssey, I guess people not realizing that it's like very, very loose.
ryley 22:22
It is a loose concept.
kat 22:23
The first review I have is a five star review from nine months ago on Google reviews that says, "I don't know what some of these professional critics," and professional critics is in quotation marks, "have against amazing movies, but this is definitely one of the greatest timepiece stories of any movie in the 2000s, maybe even of the last few decades. And the script writing is brilliant, witty, ironic, and at times makes sly nods to real things of the time (Pappy O'Daniel, Tommy Johnson, the actual damming of the so called Treasure Valley, George Nelson, etc.), further cementing its genius. 10 out of 10 If I could give it 10 stars."
ryley 23:02
Nice.
kat 23:03
Which I agree it's kind of, I don't want to compare it to Forrest Gump, but it has like a similar thing where it's just like, you know, Forrest Gump is really not a narrative structured thing. It's also just high jinks unfolding and depicting the time period.
ryley 23:15
Yeah, going through the decades kind of thing.
kat 23:17
That's another thing I like about O Brother, Where Art Thou? It's really just like painting you a picture of what the 1930s was like. We'll move on to some negative ones. This first one's from IMDb, it's a one out of 10 from February of 2001. And it is titled "What a piece of garbage." So they say-
ryley 23:35
I'm already angry.
kat 23:39
"I went to see this movie because a few of my friends said they liked it. There was about 35 people in the movie and not once did I hear a laugh. This movie I noticed is in IMDb top 250, and I, for one, cannot figure out why. It just leads to believe that my friends and the people who voted this piece of garbage in the top 250 can no longer be trusted to tell me what to see."
ryley 24:00
Sorry, I'm just taking it in. They sound like they can't- like they decided they didn't like the movie because other people in the theater weren't making noise. And I was just kind of- like because I've ever seen something and you're like, I don't know how to feel about it. And then one person says their opinion or like, oh, yeah, that's how I feel about it too.
kat 24:20
Yes.
ryley 24:20
You just kind of tell yourself that's how it is and you think that. They didn't hear people laugh, therefore they're like, Oh, it must not be good. It sounds like this person doesn't have an original thought.
kat 24:31
I was thinking the same thing considering that they referred to the IMDB top 250 and their friends as a source of telling them to watch the movie and saying they can't be trusted anymore. It's like why don't you figure out what you like.
ryley 24:44
Right. Because then list anything they actually didn't like about the movie. They just talked about what other people thought about the movie. To me, that's my first, I mean that's the first thing. You don't have the- you don't know what you like.
kat 24:56
Exactly. When I go see horror movies in the theater, I get more scared of them in the movie theater than I would at home.
ryley 25:02
Because people are screaming right next to you.
kat 25:04
Yeah, you her people going *gasp*.
ryley 25:05
Yeah, exactly.
kat 25:06
Flinching and jumping over like jumpscares and stuff.
ryley 25:10
Yeah.
kat 25:10
That's why I think like any movie that you watch in the theater, that you just like, maybe you don't know how you feel about it, rent it when it comes out on DVD or streaming.
ryley 25:19
Then you'll know
kat 25:19
You'll know a little bit better of how you feel about it. Or if you watch it with a group of friends that really, that really sways- that sways opinions.
ryley 25:27
You'll say movie is the greatest movie of all time. And it's the worst thing just because five other people in the room were going like I really liked this.
kat 25:34
Your trusted advisors said, no.
ryley 25:37
Especially if you're in high school, too.
kat 25:39
Yes.
ryley 25:40
I'm sure there are many movies we were like, this is good and then it wasn't. I can't think of one but I know I know. That's probably happened.
kat 25:48
But we'll move on to the next review. This is a star and a half from 2021 on Letterboxd. "The film did not do it for me at all. I grew up with this legendary soundtrack though, and there are no complaints there. Watched this when I was 15 but I don't remember having any thoughts on it besides, 'it is a movie.' Accepting that the Coen brothers are just really, really really hit or miss for me."
ryley 26:11
Hey, I'm not going to criticize this person too hard. It sounds like a fair opinion.
kat 26:16
No yeah this this is like the most level headed critique of a movie I've ever heard.
ryley 26:20
Yeah, they're like they're just hit or- like they said they are hit or miss for me.
kat 26:25
Yeah, not like
ryley 26:26
In general.
kat 26:27
Just because I hate it. It's terrible.
ryley 26:29
Exactly. And I can respect that.
kat 26:31
No, yeah.
ryley 26:31
That's fine. And they love the soundtrack. You know what if you like the soundtrack but hate the movie. I mean, I can't- I'm not gonna argue with you.
kat 26:37
Exactly. So the next review, this is an IMDB review. That is a one out of 10, November of 2002. And is titled "What a disappointment." "I'm a fan of the Coen's since Barton Fink and for me Fargo is one of the best movies ever but I don't get this movie. It sucks. It sucks hard. I haven't laughed once and I hated all this singing. It made the movie slow, too long and boring. There isn't more to say just don't rent it!" I can see you having internal fighting because this person liked Fargo.
ryley 27:06
Yeah, cuz like how do you?
kat 27:08
maybe they don't like Southern humor. Maybe they just like Midwest humor.
ryley 27:11
It's one of those things, cuz like they're like I didn't laugh once. I'm like, did you laugh doing Fargo? And not to say Fargo doesn't have like funny little moments. But comparing Fargo to O Brother Where Art Thou? and I'm not saying they were but just the fact that they threw it in there and they said they like Fargo it's just like it's so interesting to think. Because I would say O Brother Where Art Thou? is a comedy compared to Fargo.
kat 27:35
Oh yeah.
ryley 27:35
it- Fargo is quirky in its own way but I don't I don't think they're similar in humor whatsoever. This O Brother Where Art Thou? is way funnier than
kat 27:42
I don't think they're saying that Fargo was funny. I think they're just saying the humor used in O Brother Where Art that was not theirs.
ryley 27:49
Right. Because that's what I'm trying to say they are different. I just I think what I'm trying to say is just like I'm trying to process like why they would like Fargo but not this movie and I'm kind of rambling at this point.
kat 28:00
They said they hated all the singing it is kind of you know, it's considered to be a comedy and a musical.
ryley 28:05
Right. They're very different movies, similar but like different very different.
kat 28:09
You know, like there's there's always- Is there a Coen Brothers movie you don't like?
ryley 28:13
As of right now, no. Oh, I know. The ladies killers from them is really hated. I haven't seen it.
kat 28:20
I've never heard of that one.
ryley 28:21
Yeah, it's it's, it's really, everyone hates that movie.
kat 28:26
Okay, that's probably why I've never heard of it.
ryley 28:27
Yeah, they buried it.
kat 28:30
Yeah.
ryley 28:30
It's fair. They like Fargo. O Brother, Where Art Thou? is very different from Fargo. So you know what? I can understand the reasoning.
kat 28:40
Oh, yeah.
ryley 28:40
A little bit.
kat 28:41
But like it just baffles me because everyone I've showed this movie loves it. But we also live in the south. So I feel like that has something to do with it.
ryley 28:49
I might. Yeah. It might a little bit.
kat 28:52
The next review I have is from Letterboxd and is a star to half and is from January of 2022. And they say "I've held off on this one for a while because I knew it wasn't for me and I was right. The film really wasn't for me I just didn't find myself invested in anything that was happening to the characters. I will admit that some of the shots look nice and the music was quite cool. Maybe one day I will suddenly change my mind and like this film, but for now I don't think it is worth anyone's time."
ryley 29:18
I like the optimism
kat 29:20
Yeah.
ryley 29:20
I like the future optimism.
kat 29:22
They haven't completely written it off.
ryley 29:23
No which I uh I can appreciate. Okay. One day my friend.
kat 29:30
I'm hoping for the best for you my friend. Good luck on your endeavors. So our next review is a one out of 10 from IMDb from June of 2001. And it is titled "Why did the cows have to die?"
ryley 29:46
There are worse things in this movie going on than some cows.
kat 29:51
A few things I would say are probably worse. But they say, let's see their reasoning here though.
ryley 29:56
There's more?
kat 29:57
Yeah. That's not their whole review. That's just the title.
ryley 29:59
Oh my gosh I thought it was just like that little caption. Okay.
kat 30:01
"This movie is straight up bad. My friends all recommended this movie and I was hugely disappointed. This was terrible. I studied the Odyssey, and I'll stick with the classic text. The scenery was bland and dull (don't care if it if it meant something). Nothing about this film was funny. The straw that broke the camel's back was the shooting of the cows by "Jimmy" from the practice. Why? I realized that my steak and burgers come from a violent process, but that scene in the movie stirred up my hatred for this poor excuse of a film. The music was horrible. Thankfully, Blockbuster let me exchange the movie that night for Men of Honor, which was a fabulous film. There was absolutely no redeeming quality in this movie, The dialogue was elementary, and the overall quality was poor at best." There is literally like an almost lynching that happens in this movie.
ryley 30:51
There's so many things about this review I want- I want to start screaming.
kat 30:54
The straw that broke the camel's back.
ryley 30:56
That's the thing that's that that broke the camel's back. Really? Okay.
kat 30:59
It's the cow dying.
ryley 31:01
and also not real. It's just-
kat 31:03
It's not a real cow.
ryley 31:04
That's not real. It's not real cow. It's fine. It's not real.
kat 31:07
You're gonna be okay.
ryley 31:08
Did they go back to the movie store and get a ?
kat 31:11
No they traded it. They treated the back end for Men of Honor, which they said was a fantastic film.
ryley 31:16
I haven't even heard of that movie.
kat 31:18
Cuba Gooding Jr. and Robert De Niro. It is in fact, a war movie about a Navy Diver. And the man who trained him
ryley 31:25
That sounds so boring. It's not- like It's like underwater, too. So it's like one setting. Oh, I've already made my point.
kat 31:34
13 people gave it a thumbs down. So we're not alone on this.
ryley 31:37
No, I didn't think we were.
kat 31:41
Okay, so the next one I have is from a year ago on Google reviews. And they say "movie somewhat good and 1.5 speed. otherwise not good at all."
ryley 31:50
What?
kat 31:51
It wasn't even two hours. It was an hour and 45 minutes.
ryley 31:54
Oh, that's that's hardly- I- Oh my god. Okay, if people say this movies long. No, it's not.
kat 32:01
Most movies are around this time. I would consider this day in age because everyone thinks their movies have to be three hours now, which I detest.
ryley 32:10
I detest. I'll be really excited to see a movie and then realize it's more than two hours and then rethink about seeing that movie, because I don't like sitting that long in a theater.
kat 32:19
I didn't even know Paul Dano was in the new Batman, because I fell asleep before he took his mask off.
ryley 32:26
It honestly. It is so long it takes away from him.
kat 32:30
It is
ryley 32:31
It's so long it takes away from that movie. That movie could be really good if it just sat around two hours.
kat 32:36
Maybe two and a half.
ryley 32:37
Two and a half I could have done. It went longer than that. I'm staring at the floor because I'm I'm ready to get up and leave.
kat 32:45
I literally went to sleep.
ryley 32:46
It was just so long. It didn't need to be that long. It wasn't entertaining enough to be that long.
kat 32:53
Nope. Nope.
ryley 32:55
And that's my rant about the new Batman.
kat 32:56
That's why we won't be covering it and I'm not watching that movie.
ryley 32:59
I'm not rewatching it.
kat 33:00
Let's go back. Let's go back.
ryley 33:02
Sorry.
kat 33:03
No, no, you're good. We both we were both involved in that.
ryley 33:06
Yeah.
kat 33:07
So the next review I have is from Letterboxd, and it is a one star review from 2016. "This film was quite confusing to me. The thick Southern accents made it hard to understand a word any of them said. The film literally was a modern Odyssey want to be. The plot did not interest me at all and it was very boring. I really did not appreciate that they took someone else's story and added their own setting and characters that actually took away from the classic Odyssey."
ryley 33:34
It's like that one that we read about. I forgot what movie it was, but it's like, I hate when people make their own things out of things.
kat 33:41
It's Hunger Games.
ryley 33:41
Exactly. And there was another one where like, they said like, I hate when they take like classic monster ideas and change them like that's art dude.
kat 33:49
No exactly. Like we've said this. I don't know how many times there's I don't know what the exact number is. It's like 30 something possible storylines, or
ryley 33:57
there's only 36 or I think it was 36. It might be around that original stories. Every- everything you see it derives from one of those 30 something stories.
kat 34:10
And I have no issue, personally, with reinterpretations of classic things.
ryley 34:15
Yeah.
kat 34:16
You know, I think as long as it's done well, and it's
ryley 34:19
unique.
kat 34:19
Unique, which I think this movie very much is it is not beat for beat the exact same thing in a southern setting. It is very loosely based plot structure, the Odyssey and it has some like, you know, like the sirens and the Cyclops and Pappy O'Daniel being Zeus. It's a reinterpretation of the Odyssey in 1930s, Mississippi.
ryley 34:42
Exactly.
kat 34:43
How is that bad?
ryley 34:44
And I'm sorry, you think you think the accents of this movie are hard to understand, like,
kat 34:50
Put some subtitles on.
ryley 34:51
Yeah, no kidding.
kat 34:52
That's what they're there for.
ryley 34:53
There are some characters like Sure, I understand might be, but like George Clooney? No. George Clooney is talking like George Clooney in this movie.
kat 34:59
Steven Roots character for sure.
ryley 35:01
Yeah. Oh, yeah, you might.
kat 35:03
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
ryley 35:06
Oh, that's something I quote all the time. It's not even actual quotes. Just, it's just a noise.
kat 35:12
I had the subtitles on. He's going he's saying yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
ryley 35:15
Oh, that's so funny. I just thought it was his own little.
kat 35:17
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember them."
ryley 35:19
I thought it was just a little noise he was making. So funny.
kat 35:24
He's saying words, he's saying real words.
ryley 35:26
Oh, that's fine. Okay, that I can understand.
kat 35:29
Yes, exactly.
ryley 35:30
That I can understand.
kat 35:30
But turn the subtitles on. You watched this in 2016. That means you were not in a movie theater. So turn the subtitles on.
ryley 35:37
Exactly. I do that for movies that are just- I hate when movies are too quiet.
kat 35:40
Yes. Back from the tangent. This is a two out of 10 from IMDb written June 2001. Titled "More like the Three Stooges than the Odyssey."
ryley 35:49
I don't think that's a bad thing. I would also agree it's kind of like if you took the Three Stooges and put them in the Odyssey, I feel like that's kind of like the bit.
No, we Oh, yeah. Like it's, I would say that it's, it's a mixture of the two. But this person says "I was looking forward to seeing this well reviewed movie. Was I ever disappointed. Pros: The actors did a great job with the material they had. The ending was a lot of fun. The music was fantastic. Cons: the computer generated backdrops I found extremely irritating." They shot on location.
They, I mean,
kat 36:23
Maybe there is a few that were computer generated.
ryley 36:27
There's a handful, like especially the flood scene.
kat 36:29
Yeah.
ryley 36:29
Like I know that, but everything else is a set or on location at least.
kat 36:35
But back to this review, "Ulysses matched his famous predecessor in bravado but not in brains or bravery. I like characters that develop, that learn something, even in a comedy. I've seen this kind of slapstick a thousand times; it did nothing original, even though it feebly alluded to literature. Poor Homer. I give it a two out of 10 but only because of the marvelous Soggy Bottom Boys."
ryley 36:58
Oh like the music.
kat 36:59
You know that thing I said a second ago about how I don't like characters that just make the same mistakes over and over again? Everett's literally that.
ryley 37:09
He- yeah.
kat 37:10
He does not learn
ryley 37:11
Nope.
kat 37:11
And I guess the way that the movie setup, I don't care if he learns a lesson, personally.
ryley 37:16
Yeah.
kat 37:17
Uncut gems has like higher stakes.
ryley 37:19
Yes. And this movie ends with like a happy ending. Actually, I do actually have a critique for this movie.
kat 37:26
Okay.
ryley 37:26
This is a little random, but the ending, it only- we only could see ever like we know Delmar and Pete live but where did they go?
kat 37:34
I would agree like it would be nice to see where they would end up. Also it's not an entirely happy ending either.
ryley 37:39
They're still arguing.
kat 37:40
He didn't get the right ring. She's not-
ryley 37:42
No she's not about it.
kat 37:43
He's gonna have to keep proving himself.
ryley 37:45
Yeah. And they still have a ton of kids.
kat 37:48
Yeah, so I agree with that last part where they said they like characters that develop and that learn something I don't think it's important for a character to have their whole mindset changed by the end of the movie because other characters did develop. It was really just the main character that didn't develop. Okay, so the last review I have is a four star review from 2020 on Letterboxd. "Somehow I wasn't expecting this film to be a faithful depiction of mass politics in the Depression era south as well as a hilarious, and occasionally poignant adventure. I stan Tim Blake Nelson and the world needs the Soggy Bottom Boys to return. Also, this movie looks incredible, shoutout to Roger Deakins."
ryley 38:27
Nice.
kat 38:27
Prolific for his cinematography, so.
ryley 38:30
Yeah, and you said he did 1917?
kat 38:32
Yeah, he did 1917. He did Blade Runner 2049.
ryley 38:35
Oh my gosh, gorgeous films.
kat 38:38
What's your rating on this movie? What are your closing thoughts?
ryley 38:41
Because I think this movie is in my top 10 favorite films, I would say this is a 10 out of 10 film.
kat 38:48
Okay.
ryley 38:49
I do I love this movie.
kat 38:51
Do you have anything else to add? Other than what you said? I know you- you came up with one critique.
ryley 38:55
I came up with one critique. And I can't think of anymore. I really can't. What would you rate it?
kat 39:01
I think I would also give it a 10 out of 10. Like any movie that we grew up watching, you know, it's gonna have its flaws. You know, this movie really is not for everybody. I think it- I really wouldn't know who to suggest this movie to. But if you're curious and you like the Coen Brothers, maybe watch this movie. If you're from the south, definitely watch it. Watch it with your dad.
ryley 39:23
Yeah.
kat 39:24
But really let us know what you think. You can contact us on Instagram and tiktok at Easy Bake Takes. Thank you so much for listening. This has been Easy Bake Takes. I'm Kat
ryley 39:35
and I'm Ryley.
kat 39:37
Easy watching out there. Bye
ryley 39:40
Bye