FamilyFans Movies

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BURN AFTER READING (R)

Focus Features

Plot Summary: The confidential, personal information of a former CIA agent is lost and ends up in the hands of two gym employees.

Reason for the Rating: Pervasive language, some sexual content and violence.

The Coen brothers are at it again. The pair, famous for such screwball comedies like Raising Arizona, and dark pieces like the award winning No Country For Old Men, have collaborated again for their newest dark comedy: Read After Burning.

Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) is an odd-ball CIA agent who recently quit his job and has decided to write his memoirs because he thinks everyone would be interested in the story of a mid-level CIA agent. His wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton), is overbearing, direct, and can no longer tolerate his idiocy. She decides to quietly file for a divorce. In preparation, she downloads files from his computer, including financial information and portions of his memoir. This CD quickly becomes lost, and then is found by two bumbling gym employees, Chad (Brad Pitt) and Linda (Frances McDormand). Although they aren’t sure what exactly is on the disc, they are sure Osborne will be readily willing to offer them a “Good Samaritan reward.”

Osborne Cox, though, isn’t quite as generous as Chad and Linda are hoping. When he doesn’t put up the money, they decide to sell the disc to the Russians. All their hopes and effort lead to car chases, break-ins, and several surprise twists and turns.

What makes this movie so appealing though, isn’t the plot - which is crazy but leads nowhere. Rather, it’s the zany characters and the actors who play them whole-heartedly. You have never seen Brad Pitt like this. Who knew he could be funny? Frances McDormand is perfect as Linda Litzke, who is the embodiment of all women in her quest for a perfect body and a man to share it with. And George Clooney, who is always the strong and courageous leading man, portrays Harry, a beaten down and insecure man who says and does the most outrageous things.

Unfortunately, while the movie is quite funny, it’s also full of expletives, to the point of distraction where you’ll find yourself saying, “Enough, already. I get the joke!” The movie also uses sexual humor…not like a teen movie such as “Super Bad,” but, for example, showing sexual apparatus for shock value. You will gasp and then laugh, but the gasp will stay with you. At the end of the movie, these two factors made it really hard for me to say, “I’d recommend this movie without reservation.” It actually made it harder for me to remember the humor in the movie, as I was so distracted by the language and casual immorality. .

FAMILYFANS RECOMMENDS:

This is a funny movie, but full of messages that aren’t edifying in any way. Skip it and take the family out for ice-cream instead.

AFTER THE SHOW: 

• Linda fully believed that multiple surgeries would solve her problems. What will it really take for Linda to find true happiness?

• What would you be willing to break any laws for $50,000? If so, which ones?

• Linda and Harry were each seeking relationships, but weren’t willing to reveal themselves on a deeper level. What keeps you from revealing your true self to other?

JW

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