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The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

tomatometer

56

Average Rating: 6.2/10
Reviews Counted: 39
Fresh: 22 | Rotten: 17

No consensus yet.

20

Average Rating: 4.1/10
Critic Reviews: 10
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 8

No consensus yet.

audience

79

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 40,288

My Rating

Movie Info

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen concocted this stylish screwball comedic amalgam of Frank Capra and Howard Hawks. Tim Robbins stars as Norville Barnes, a dull-wit from Muncie, Indiana who wrangles a job with the big Hudsucker Industries. He has a singular idea for a new children's toy that he wants to present to corporate executive Sidney J. Mussberger (Paul Newman). As he makes his way up to Mussberger's office, the company president Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning) is on his way down -- through the

PG, 1 hr. 51 min.

Comedy

,

May 18, 1999

Warner Home Video

Cast

All Critics (39) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (17) | DVD (7)

A visually arresting but emotionally uninvolving dark comedy.

November 6, 2007 Comment
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A jeering, dreamlike comedy with nothing much on its mind except how neat the Coen brothers are and how stupid or contemptible everybody else is, including everyone in the audience.

November 6, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Nearly everything in the Coen brothers' latest and biggest film seems like a wizardly but artificial synthesis, leaving a hole in the middle where some emotion and humanity should be.

November 6, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Movies are, after all, about fakery; so is the story of Norville's rise and fall and redemption.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A wickedly funny and incisive lampoon of big business.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: ReelViews | Comment
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Not even the slightest attempt is made to suggest that the film takes its own story seriously. Everything is style. The performances seem deliberately angled as satire.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment (1)
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A pastiche of a movie that lacks distinct identity and authenticity, made up of borrowed parts from scrwball comedies Frank Capra, Howard Hawks, and Preston Sturges.

August 4, 2010 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

An impressive technical achievement--the period New York sets are to die for -- and its version of the invention of the hula-hoop is a comic highlight.

November 6, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Bizarre, yet typical Coen comedy. Very dark and cartoonish.

November 30, 2006 Comment
Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers

A minor work, but confirmation of the Coens' position among America's most ambitious, able and exciting film-makers.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

Criminally overlooked and sinfully wonderful Coen brothers comedy. Jennifer Jason Leigh is just flawless here.

April 3, 2005 Comment
eFilmCritic.com

[The Coens'] inventive style and the over-the-top performances from Robbins and Newman make this a feast for the eyes and a barrel of laughs.

January 15, 2005 Full Review Source: Looking Closer | Comment
Looking Closer

Stinging Coen brothers satire.

July 21, 2004 Comment
Arizona Daily Star

A rare Coen Bros. misfire, never quite as nostalgic or clever as the dialogue or art direction imply.

August 16, 2003 Comment
Nick's Flick Picks
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Hudsucker Proxy

Its a kid's coen brothers movie. Entertaining from beginning to the end with Tim Robbins playing a great role along with Paul Newman. Its not daring or bold, but its stylish and fun.

January 16, 2012
paul o.
paul oh

Super Reviewer

Norville: It's fun, it's healthy, it's good exercise. The kids will just love it. and we put a little sand inside to make the experience more pleasant. "At Hudsucker's industry there's a fast way to the top... and an even faster way down!"The Hudsucker Proxy is one of the best screwball comedies you could ever wish to

January 28, 2011
blkbomb
Melvin White

Super Reviewer

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Foreign Titles

  • Hudsucker - Der große Sprungn (DE)
  • Le grand saut (FR)
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