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Slightly Odd Killers
Tom Hanks returns to quirky roles in this rather pedestrian Coen Brothers film.

Starring: Tom Hanks, Marlon Wayans, J.K. Simmons, Tzi Ma, Ryan Hurst, Diane Delano, Irma P. Hall
Directors: The Coen Brothers

Reviewed by Kevin Cunningham

THE PITCH: A group of scheming robbers plot in the basement of a nice old, oblivious lady who proves more than a match for them all. IN OTHER WORDS: The Italian Job meets Driving Miss Daisy with a macabre twist in the deep south.

It's really hard to see Tom Hanks as swarmy. Really, really hard.

But then, he is perhaps the great actor of our time, and he pulls it off, in his first truly villainous role in the Coen Brothers' The Ladykillers. Alas, even Tom Hanks, the Coens and a cast of wonderful supporting character actors can make this film feel good when you're walking out.

In perhaps one of the most incredible motley crews of criminals ever put together, Tom Hanks plays a southern con man with the charm and eloquence of Mark Twain, who has masterminded a heist of a local riverboat casino. In league with him are a wisecracking hip hop wanna be thug (Marlon Wayans, playing the same guy he always has), a goofy demolitions 'expert' (J.K. Simmons), a Japanese man who does little other than annoy the landlord with his smoking and glare at everyone (Tzi Ma), and a likable dunce (Ryan Hurst).

The plan is perfect, except for the rather likable old lady whose house is key to their plot, played to old lady perfection by Irma P. Hall.

The first half of the film is focused on the group's attempts to deceive the old woman and her friends as to their real intentions. The second half of the film is the group's attempts to deal with her once she discovers the truth. And that's where the film disintegrates.

The intent of the film seems to be a series of almost vaudevillian attempts to outwit the ignorant old woman. That's all fine and good, if you can find the humor in attempting to kill an old woman. Unfortunately, the Coen Brothers don't. The film takes far too long to reach this point of the story, and the attempts to do the deed pass by far too quickly to truly enjoy. The Three Stooges made a career of making entire movies based around the screwing up of one simple deed; the Coen Brothers could've done better by devoting more than 5 minutes to each attempt at it.

Still, the movie's performances are enough to carry it along to it's supposedly uplifting ending. It's enough to get by, but it's definitely a sub-par effort by the Coen Brothers.

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