The Ladykillers
The Coen Brothers have been busier than usual lately. But since "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" a few years back, it hasn't really been high times for them. Intolerable Cruelty was big on ideas but short on execution. Bad Santa was a bit dark for people's tastes. And now, The Ladykillers. They even got Tom Hanks to do it. He is Professor Goldthwait Higginson Dorr Ph.D. He notices a room for rent sign at the house of Marva Munson (Irma Hall), a widower whose life revolves around the church. But Dorr has other plans for his new place. It's all part of an elaborate scheme to rob the nearby riverboat casino, which has its underground facilities in close proximity to the Munson house. Under the guise of a church music group, Dorr and his accomplices work to dig a tunnel to the casino, rob the counting room of its money and leave. Yet Munson knows a bit more than she lets on, leaving the group with a heavy decision to make.

The film for the most part is funny. Scenes like the planning of the heist, Munson trying to control the team making too much noise or doing something they aren't supposed to and the eventual resolution to the story are among the high points of the film. Hanks contributes a peculiar character that is a joy to watch. Sure, his accomplices are funny as well, but they are one-note characters. They do the same thing over and over again. It gets less and less funny. My economics education taught me that that's called the law of diminishing returns. Did we really need to hear about IBS about 4 or 5 times or see the General swallowing his cigarette 4 or 5 times? I think not. It was funny the first time, but not so much later on. With this, the film at times gets tired and it takes a smart-alecky line from Hanks to pick things back up, but that alone can't solve everything. The gospel music's good but never really finds a niche in the overall film. 2.5 stars