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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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    161 - 180 (sorted by date)
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    Bludgeons you with cartoonish gags about stupid football players, irritable-bowel syndrome and (for the second Coen film in a row) somebody accidentally shooting himself in the head.

    Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
    03/25/04
    John Powers
    John Powers
    L.A. Weekly

    Though there are moments of genuine humor ... they feel hollow without any depth to the characters who populate them.

    Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
    03/25/04
    Josh Bell
    Josh Bell
    Las Vegas Weekly

    [Hanks] lends the movie the full, devious force of his bristly spirit.

    Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
    03/25/04
    Owen Gleiberman
    Owen Gleiberman
    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Wears out its welcome early as an interminably long comedy with a mannered and unfunny performance by Tom Hanks as the leader of a bumbling gang of thieves.

    Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
    03/25/04
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Spirituality and Practice

    Another offbeat Coen gem, gleaming with verbal and pictorial style, exploding with wit and slapstick.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
    03/25/04
    Michael Wilmington
    Michael Wilmington
    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Hey, guys, let's go back to independent movies.

    Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
    03/25/04
    Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
    Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
    Atlanta Journal-Constitution
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    If you like your comedies dizzying, smart, silly and Coen country-fried, then The Ladykillers is an absolute must-see!

    Full Review Source: Fantastica Daily | comment Comment
    03/25/04
    Staci Layne Wilson
    Staci Layne Wilson
    Fantastica Daily

    The Ladykillers is funny. Or, as Goldthwait Higginson Dorr would say it, it’s an exorbitantly capricious motion picture presentation that has a lithe, whimsical air.

    Full Review Source: State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) | comment Comment
    03/25/04
    Nick Rogers
    Nick Rogers
    State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)

    An interesting collection of character work, ultimately The Ladykillers is a disappointment.

    Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | comment Comment
    03/25/04
    Scott Nash
    Scott Nash
    Three Movie Buffs

    Hanks has never been better than he is here, as a Colonel Sanders with fake teeth who constantly uses 40 words when two or three would do just fine.

    Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
    03/25/04
    Jon Popick
    Jon Popick
    Planet Sick-Boy

    One's ability to enjoy The Ladykillers is directly proportionate to one's willingness to accept the incredibly broad performances.

    Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
    03/25/04
    David Nusair
    David Nusair
    Reel Film Reviews

    A Fargo without that crucial, defining final speech about the beauty of a new day dawning.

    Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
    03/24/04
    Walter Chaw
    Walter Chaw
    Film Freak Central

    In the end, this is a disappointing Coen bros movie.

    Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
    03/24/04
    JoBlo
    JoBlo
    JoBlo's Movie Emporium

    Has a good chance at being the year's funniest film--and the only one with an English Bulldog wearing a gas mask. Tom Hanks gives the funniest performance of his career.

    Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife | comment Comment
    03/24/04
    Bob Grimm
    Bob Grimm
    Las Vegas CityLife

    Smug comedy.

    Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment Comment
    03/24/04
    Victoria Alexander
    Victoria Alexander
    FilmsInReview.com

    [It] isn’t just a misfire, it’s an annoying misfire, irksome, tedious, and on the whole, unnecessary.

    Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    03/24/04
    Andrea Chase
    Andrea Chase
    Killer Movie Reviews

    'The Ladykillers in Big Momma's House'...a film that, despite some inspired moments, is alternately arch and crude.

    Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
    03/24/04
    Frank Swietek
    Frank Swietek
    One Guy's Opinion

    Imperfections aside, "Ladykillers" is still a great deal of fun: excellent costuming, sweet cinematography, strong direction, and wonderfully crisp quirky dialogue.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
    03/24/04
    Ross Anthony
    Ross Anthony
    Hollywood Report Card

    Only lip service is paid to the heist, as the Coen Brothers are far more interested in milking the foibles and idiosyncrasies of their cast of lowbrow clowns.

    Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
    03/24/04
    Rob Blackwelder
    Rob Blackwelder
    SPLICEDWire

    I’ve been waiting a long time for Tom Hanks to return to comedy. It looks like I’m going to keep on waiting.

    Full Review Source: CinemaBlend.com | comment Comment
    03/23/04
    Joshua Tyler
    Joshua Tyler
    CinemaBlend.com
     
     
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