Search - The Hudsucker Proxy on DVD

You know . . . for movie lovers!

Shashank Tripathi | 03/05/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Massively undervalued thematic sequel to *Barton Fink*. I say that because *The Hudsucker Proxy* (a bad title that guaranteed box-office oblivion, btw) treads a lot of the same water as the earlier film: hucksterism, commericalism, the notion that one person can singlehandedly come up with One Great Idea -- in short, the American Dream. This time, it's the world of business instead of Hollywood, but the corporate fatcats at Hudsucker Industries are relevant enough "proxies" for movie-studio fatcats; i.e., the point is well-taken. Indeed, the movie is -- as most Coen Brothers movies are -- about movies themselves, and you're not giving the Coens enough credit if you think *The Hudsucker Proxy* is merely a send-up of some Frank Capra movie. It's a send-up of the entire film industry, which is pretty cheeky, considering that this was their first "big-budget, major-studio" production. If you must have it: the plot concerns a doe-eyed graduate of Muncie Business College who winds up in the basement mailroom at Hudsucker Industries in New Yawk City. The President of the company has just taken a swan-dive from the 45th floor (not counting the mezzanine). Meanwhile, the fatcats on the Board of Directors, of which Paul Newman is the cattiest, come up with the brilliant idea of promoting a moron to the President's chair in order to devalue Hudsucker stock -- that way, they can buy up the remaining shares of the company, after which the moron can be comfortably dispensed with. But Tim Robbins, the putative moron, has one killer idea up his sleeve that throws a monkeywrench in the gears. But don't take all this too seriously. The fun's in the details . . . and, let's face it, you probably have to be in on the joke to really appreciate what the Coens are doing here. Meaning? They assume you have a knowledge of old-movie conventions, and that you appreciate the homage this movie pays to them. Basically, they insist that you bring something to the party. They insist you get off your Lazy-Boy and meet them halfway. Oh, by the way: the movie's hilarious, too."

A BLOCKBUSTER THAT, INTRIGUINGLY, NEVER QUITE BECAME ONE!

Shashank Tripathi | Gadabout | 10/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If Fargo could bag an Oscar, The Hudsucker Proxy should be Required Viewing. To put it simply, this is sheer genius on tape, there really is so little not to like about this film. The Coens attempted to revive the screwball comedy genre, and boy did they do it. Tim Robbins enjoys himself immensely as the gormless mailroom boy promoted to company President in the space of one day as a patsy to allow boardroom creeps to gain control of the Hudsucker company. Jennifer Leigh's amalgam of Katharine Hepburn/Rosalind Russell/Jean Arthur (from the 1930s) is priceless. I personally felt Paul Newman was a bit wasted in his role, but that's just me. However, these performances would be for nothing if it wasn't for the marvellous script- witness the boardroom scenes in which the directors discuss how many floors it was that Mr Hudsucker fell ("not including the mezzanine") or the scene in which they interrogate Norville about his new invention. The script is also responsible for the fantastic line "Y'know, for kids!" which means nothing if you haven't seen the movie but now always makes me laugh whenever I think of it.Film making at its finest. Rent it, steal it, embezzle it -- but watch this gem!"