Test T
I watched this on DVD recently. The satirical commentary this film makes about capitalism in western society is delightfully insightful. I found many of the scenes to be extrelely witty and an absolute pleasure to watch. The force of cynicism is almost overpowering throughout, which makes it extremely entertaining. It's not perfect thought, and between the frequent moments of comedic genius there are a few transitionsl scenes to endure, but these are mostly of little consequence. Over all it's really good, and I have no problems recommending it.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
05/28/24
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Jerod S
The Coen brothers make the story of the hula hoop and big business weird and creative. But Tim Robbins and Jason-Leigh are given such an odd piece that I couldn't get into it.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
05/11/24
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Mark R
So much fun. An all-time favourite.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
04/08/24
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120lightsaber
One of the most underrated films of all time.
You either Love it or Hate it and this film is a nostalgic fun film full of laughs and drama.
It should have been an Epic Classic but has been totally forgotten by most.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/22/24
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ed m
Great movie. Homage to Frank Capra. Great cast. Jennifer Jason Leigh's tribute to Barbara Stanwyck is marvelous.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
12/13/23
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Matthew B
The Coen Brothers have had a good track record of making films that receive reasonably good critical reviews and make a good return at the box office. The Hudsucker Proxy was not one of those movies. While the film has been a number of years in the making, suggesting a project close to the heart of the Coens, it bombed on its release, and critics were scathing.
ime has been kinder to the film, and it can now be seen as their most underestimated work, a parable about the cut-throat world of modern capitalism wrapped in a fairy tale story that recalls the style of Frank Capra and Preston Sturges.
Indeed the beginning and ending of the story carry an echo of Capra's film, Meet John Doe, another under-rated movie. Both movies begin with a man on top of a building on a snowy New Year's Eve, who is contemplating suicide. Both films leave the possibility of salvation to as late a moment as possible, with Hudsucker pushing the moment of its hero's last chance of redemption to a much later point than Joe Doe.
n The Hudsucker Proxy, the suicidal man is Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins). "How'd he get so high? And why's he feeling so low?" asks Moses (Bill Cobbs). From this point onwards, the film offers a flashback to fill us in on the rise and fall of Norville Barnes. It seems unlikely at first that this absurd little man could ever become important enough to be the subject of a suicide attempt that would have serious implications for a large business.
Norville's rise is caused by another man's fall – a literal one. In the middle of a board meeting about the huge profits being made by the company, its president, Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning) take the opportunity to throw himself through the window and fall 44 floors (not counting the mezzanine) to his death.
The Board appoints Norville to run the company, expecting him to fail so they can hoover up the depressed shares. Instead Norville has his own project. He has invented the hula hoop. This leads to the film's most exciting montage, and the one that won me over to loving the film. One evening I switched channels on my TV, and caught The Hudsucker Proxy at this point. I was instantly captivated by the wit and intelligence of the scene, and it is still the best part of the movie for me.
After such an introduction, I can only disappoint readers who have not seen The Hudsucker Proxy. It is another witty and exciting montage showing the decline and rise in fortunes of Norville's pet project. The film rapidly cuts between different scenes showing the making and marketing of the hula hoop. Hoops are mass-produced. Execs argue over the price. Marketing employees struggle to find a name for the new product while their secretary reads War and Peace. By the time they come up with the name, she has begun Anna Karenina.
Finally the hula hoop is sold on the streets, but the toy shop remains empty. Price sticker is stamped over price sticker after price sticker, showing the cost going down, as children fail to buy Norville's beloved product. The ticker tape showing Hudsucker share values offers no comfort to Norville or Amy. The shopkeeper throws away a pile of hula hoops, which he cannot even give away for free.
The camera follows the path of one discarded hula hoop as it rolls across streets and finally lands at a little boy's feet. He takes it up, and is soon proficient in his use of the hoop. The other children stare at him in awe. Suddenly there is a mad charge back to the toy shop. The price starts going up again, and Norville and Amy have something to smile about when they read the share values.
The hula hoop acts as the perfect symbol for the action in The Hudsucker Proxy. Circular imagery abounds – the hula hoop, a Frisbee, the coffee ring on Norville's newspaper, the clock at the top of Hudsucker Industries that is presided over by old Moses, and a halo on the head of an angel.
When Norville explains his view of karma to Amy, he likens it to a circle: "A great wheel that gives us all what we deserve". Indeed the plot is circular, showing Norville's rise, fall and rise again. The film ends in the same place that it begun.
The ambiguity is reflected in the Hudsucker slogan, "The future is now". Time dominates the lives of the characters. The workers at the bottom of the building must clock in every day. Characters reflect on their past behaviour, and feel that they have betrayed their old values. The future is uncertain, hung on the cusp between one year and another (the final scene takes place on New Year's Eve).
Mussburger's office is placed close to the clock which dominates much of the film. Moses keeps the clock maintained, and may even use it to change the future when it suits him. Time can be frozen, but not reversed.
This is a fairy tale, but one with images that would be scary if the tone of the film was not so tongue-in-cheek. Hudsucker employees work in an intimidatingly large building that looks like something out of Fritz Lang's Metropolis. The angular lines of the building recall Fascist architecture. Rapacious employers work in comfort at the top, and poor employees are exploited and overworked at the bottom.
However even those at the top are not protected from falling, literally or figuratively. Three characters contemplate suicide. On New Year's Eve, the Board are wearing party hats while they listen to the news of Norville's fall. The hats make them seem like Klan members. Meanwhile crowds chase the disgraced Norville in a manner that recalls the ending of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Essentially though this is escapist fantasy. The action is set in a scale model version of old New York that looks utterly fake and romanticised. Khachaturian's music adds excitement and humour to the action. The dialogue contains rhythmical repetitions: "Sure! Sure!" "Not counting the mezzanine." Scene transitions are abrupt and amusing. My favourite is when a woman steps in front of the camera and shushes us ahead of a board meeting.
The Hudsucker Proxy may be a triumph of style over substance, but the style is certainly amazing, and it does not come at the expense of a good story. Do we really care about the characters? Yes, just enough to want to see Norville and Amy triumph over their enemies. There is no deep message here, but the film is undeniably good-hearted and funny.
I wrote a longer appreciation of The Hudsucker Proxy on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2022/01/13/the-hudsucker-proxy-1994/
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
08/24/23
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