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Ladykillers

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Ladykillers (2004)

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Reviews Counted:182

Fresh:100

Rotten:82

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: Hanks' performance in the lead role is inspired, but this is a relatively minor offering from the Coen brothers.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language including sexual references

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Mar 26, 2004 Wide

Box Office: $39,671,084

Synopsis: It is always difficult to try to recreate a classic movie, so Joel and Ethan Coen took the premise of Alexander Mackendrick's beloved 1955 Ealing Studio caper comedy, THE LADYKILLERS, as the basis... It is always difficult to try to recreate a classic movie, so Joel and Ethan Coen took the premise of Alexander Mackendrick's beloved 1955 Ealing Studio caper comedy, THE LADYKILLERS, as the basis for coming up with their own entertaining and bizarre remake. Tom Hanks stars as Goldthwait Higginson Dorr, Ph.D., a would-be professor who talks his way into the root cellar of Mrs. Munson (Irma P. Hall), where he and his supposed band will practice their "Renaissance music." But they are actually plotting to tunnel through to steal a mint from a riverboat casino. The motley crew of incompetent criminals includes Marlon Wayans as Gawain MacSam, a hip-hoppity thug pretending to be a janitor; J.K. Simmons as movie prop man and demolition "expert" Garth Pancake, who has problems with intestinal bowel syndrome; Tzi Ma as the General, a Vietnamese tunnel rat with a Hitler mustache; and Ryan Hurst as a pathetically dumb football wannabe named Lump. Just when they think all is going well, they run into a curious Mrs. Munson, who smells something funny. The film includes several exhilarating Gospel scenes set in southern churches, and lots of riotous site gags. The Coen brothers have done it yet again. [More]

Starring: Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall, Marlon Wayans, J.K. Simmons

Starring: Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall, Marlon Wayans, J.K. Simmons, Tzi Ma, Ryan Hurst, Diane Delano, George Wallace, Stephen Root

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Screenwriter: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Producer: Barry Josephson, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Tom Jacobson, Barry Sonnenfeld
Composer: Carter Burwell, T-Bone Burnett
Studio: Touchstone Pictures

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Release:

Sep 7, 2004

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • The Ladykillers
  • Academy Award(R)-winning Tom Hanks (Best Actor, FORREST GUMP, 1994; PHILADELPHIA, 1993) turns in a hilariously original performance in THE LADYKILLERS, the laugh-out-loud comedy that explodes with outrageous wit and slapstick humor from the Coen Brothers (O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?, FARGO). Underneath Professor G.H. Dorr's (Hanks) silver-tongued southern gentleman persona is a devious criminal who has assembled a motley gang of thieves to commit the heist of the century by tunneling through his churchgoing landlady's root cellar to a casino's vault of riches. But these cons are far from pros. As their scheme begins blowing up in their faces, their landlady smells a rat. And when she threatens to call the police, they figure they'll just bump her off. After all, how hard can that be? Wickedly funny from start to finish, it would be a crime to miss THE LADYKILLERS.
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Ladykillers

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    41 - 60 (sorted by date)
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    It is worth watching just to see Hanks chewing into a juicy, throwaway comic role.

    Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
    04/11/04
    James Kendrick
    James Kendrick
    Q Network Film Desk

    [Feels] like Hollywood execs are trying to get the Coen brothers to cash in on formulas that have proven profitable rather than letting them play.

    Full Review Source: Movie Views | comment Comment
    04/09/04
    Ryan Cracknell
    Ryan Cracknell
    Movie Views

    The Coens have once again crafted a magical look at the Deep South.

    Full Review Source: Cinemaclips.com | comment Comment
    04/09/04
    Roger Tennis
    Roger Tennis
    Cinemaclips.com

    [Directors Joel and Ethan Coen] aren’t for everyone, but those who like their offbeat material will discover a new gem here.

    Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
    04/09/04
    Forrest Hartman
    Forrest Hartman
    Reno Gazette-Journal

    The talented but increasingly eccentric Coen Brothers always walk a tightrope between the brilliantly offbeat and movies that are swallowed up by their idiosyncratic mindset

    Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
    04/08/04
    Lori Hoffman
    Lori Hoffman
    Atlantic City Weekly

    ...nowhere near the Coens' funniest or most distinctive or even most endearing work.

    Full Review Source: Weekly Planet (Tampa, FL) | comment Comment
    04/07/04
    Lance Goldenberg
    Lance Goldenberg
    Weekly Planet (Tampa, FL)

    The Coen Brothers try their hand at remaking one of the best of the 1950s Alec Guinness comedies. A version that has little to offer anyone who has seen the original.

    Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
    04/07/04
    Mark R. Leeper
    Mark R. Leeper
    rec.arts.movies.reviews

    With a mix of Poe, rap, and gospel, the Coens and Hanks create a fascinating portrait of the modern, Gothic South.

    Full Review Source: Film Snobs | comment Comment
    04/05/04
    Jimmy O
    Jimmy O
    Film Snobs

    It is certainly curious to contemplate how the combination of the genius, subversive Coen brothers with the talent of the world's biggest movie star could produce a film that feels so thoroughly robbed of its best treasures.

    Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
    04/03/04
    Jon Alon Walz
    Jon Alon Walz
    Boxoffice Magazine

    Skimming the surface of its subjects, The Ladykillers is really little more than an acting showcase for its ensemble.

    Full Review Source: Mixed Reviews | comment Comment
    04/02/04
    Gabriel Shanks
    Gabriel Shanks
    Mixed Reviews

    a sharp, funny, smart comedy that draws its humor from hysterical situations, visual jokes and wonderful characters

    Full Review Source: WaffleMovies.com | comment Comment
    04/02/04
    Willie Waffle
    Willie Waffle
    WaffleMovies.com

    ...a flat and flimsy escapade of a shapeless farce...has all the fizzle of warm root beer in a dirty mug...meager and baseless

    Full Review Source: Movie Eye | comment Comment
    04/01/04
    Frank Ochieng
    Frank Ochieng
    Movie Eye

    The humorous linchpin in the movie rests on a running (so to speak) gag about irritable bowel syndrome. The Coens need to do better than that, but they don’t.

    Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
    04/01/04
    Thomas Delapa
    Thomas Delapa
    Boulder Weekly

    Each of the characters is occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, and if you can go into this comedy with low expectations, you may emerge refreshed. Considering what this movie might have been, though, makes me long for the old Coen Brothers magic.

    Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
    04/01/04
    Jim Shelby
    Jim Shelby
    Palo Alto Weekly

    I can think of no good reason to recommend that you buy a ticket to see the Coen brothers remake of The Ladykillers. Unless, of course, you’re feeling charitable.

    Full Review Source: Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) | comment Comment
    04/01/04
    Randy Shulman
    Randy Shulman
    Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)

    When the Coen brothers are capable of making brilliant stuff like Fargo, should they really be spending their time making pictures like The Ladykillers?

    Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
    03/31/04
    Mike McGranaghan
    Mike McGranaghan
    Aisle Seat

    I like the movie, but with the top-notch acting, cinematography and dialogue it has, I should have loved it.

    Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
    03/31/04
    Eric D. Snider
    Eric D. Snider
    EricDSnider.com

    There's a hint of the usual Coen genius here...but only a hint.

    Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
    03/31/04
    Linda Cook
    Linda Cook
    Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

    The Coens' take on this material is a happy blend of respecting the original and leapfrogging from it with their own inimitable creativity.

    Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
    03/31/04
    Ken Hanke
    Ken Hanke
    Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

    The kind of conspiratorial comedy that makes us feel we're privy to an inside joke.

    Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
    03/31/04
    Matt Brunson
    Matt Brunson
    Creative Loafing
     
     
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