Director Series - The Coen Bros.' THE HUDSUCKER PROXY (1994)

n my opinion the most under-rated and criminally under-seen film in all of the Coen Bros. oeuvre, is 1994’s THE HUDSUCKER PROXY and upon this most recent rewatch, my opinion remains unchanged.

Starring Tim Robbins and Paul Newman, THE HUDSUCKER PROXY is an homage to the screwball comedy films of the 1940’s (like HIS GIRL FRIDAY with Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, Directed by Howard Hawks) that features rapid-fire dialogue and a battle of wits and wills. In this film we follow a “patsy” who is named President of the Hudsucker Corporation by a devious executive who wants to devalue the stock of the company so he can snatch it up for a song and take control.

This is the perfect blend of story and style for the Coens and they establish and run this film (and it’s era) very well, capturing the sense of the genre while establishing characters that one has a tendency to care about.

Tim Robbins (Nuke LaLoosh in BULL DURHAM) is wonderfully earnest and naïve in the Lead Role of Norville Barnes a youngster from Muncie, Indiana who is an unknowing co-conspirator of the fraud scheme. Robbins is perfectly cast in this role and he takes a version of this character to another level in his next film, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (but that’s a story for another time).

Jennifer Jason Leigh (THE HATEFUL EIGHT) carries much of the burden of making sure the feel of this film is correct as the Rosalind Russell-type fast-talking reporter sniffing out the scheme. Her scenes with her boss, played by Frasier’s JOHN MAHONEY, and a colleague, played by Bruce Campbell of EVIL DEAD fame, are a marvelous reminder of what these types of films were like back in the 1940’s.

Bill Cobbs (NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM), Charles Durning (TOOTSIE) and JIm True-Frost (AFFLICTION) all add to the nuanced layers of this film.

But the casting of Paul Newman (COOL HAND LUKE) is the true coup of this film. Reportedly, the Coens waited for years for Newman to be available for this role before filming and they were honored with one of Newman’s final great performances. He is a true movie star and commands the screen whenever he is shown.

The film moves along at a fast pace and the Coens’ direction/command of the material was never in doubt as it hits all the right notes (even if the last part of the film is a tad too long/drawn out).

Special mention needs to be made of the Cinematography by the great Roger Deakins and the Production Design by Dennis Gassner who gives the audience a visual feast of pseudo-1940’s art deco style to absorb.

A stylized, fast and fun film that if you haven’t seen, you should. You’ll enjoy yourself.

Letter Grade: A-

8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)

Next Month: FARGO (1996), dontcha’ know!