Now Watch This

As I sit down to watch Alec Guinness in the 1955 comedy The Ladykillers, I realize I would be remiss if I didn't let you know about the Coen Brothers' 2004 remake starring Tom Hanks, which only I can recommend because I think I'm the only person who's seen it and liked it.

The remake takes a lot of stick for, well, let's be honest, not being in the same league as the rest of brothers' oeuvre. But lotsa people hate on it. Could it be that Tom Hanks isn't cool enough for the Lebowski-ists, who look down their noses at it because the source material isn't theirs and therefore must lack that certain je ne c'est Coen? Ok, I can grant that, too (though that orthodoxy must surely be receding in light of No Country For Old Men and the upcoming True Grit, a remake of a John Wayne western, and The Yiddish Policeman's Union, from a Michael Chabon novel).

Despite all that, it ain't to be avoided like the plague as some would make you think. In fact, it's worth seeking out just for Tom Hanks' performance. It doesn't get any credit, but it blew my mind to a small degree (is that possible?). He knows how to be funny (Big, The Money Pit, Bachelor Party) but after a couple Oscars you have no choice but to turn into a self-serious believer of your own hype, which makes this role even more exceptional. He plays a con man in the guise of a Southern gentleman professor/musician whose seems to think his silver tongue is his gang's greatest asset. Rat-a-tat-tat come the words from his mouth, so many and so fast and so fluid I have a hard time believing his dialogue was delivered word-for-word--it just had to be improvised. Watching this character try and keep a grip on things as their caper starts to unravel is a delight.

So there you go. A silly caper-gone-wrong comedy with an unusually respectable pedigree that boasts a  standout comedic performance from an A-list multiple Oscar winner. I still think it woulda been a hit from anybody other than the Coens--it sure as hell ain't no Intolerable Cruelty, which truly sucked.

And and if that's not enough, it's got J.K. Simmons, too, and he always delivers.

UPDATE: For the record, Tom Hanks blows Alec Guinness away here. Yup. And I enjoyed the remake far more than the original.