(2 out of 5 stars)

Maybe I just do not get dark comedies, but is it just me? The entire theater only laughed a few times. This movie was advertised as a comedy and thriller yet it rarely made me laugh, and if I would have been at home, I likely would have fell asleep, no thrill at all. The Coen brothers are good at odd movies, but this one is too over the top.

Let’s see if I can summarize… Frances McDormand’s gym trainer wants money for plastic surgery and works with Brad Pitt’s dorky gym trainer. While internet dating she finds George Clooney’s character who appears to need to run each day, but is also sleeping with Tilda Swinton’s character who is married to John Malkovich’s character. He has just been fired by the CIA (where J.K. Simmons character appears to be the head guy) and is writing his memoirs. Clooney also is married. Pitt finds a CD with Malkovich’s beginning memoirs and thinks it is a super spy secret, so he and McDormand try and sell it to the CIA, and then to the Russians, all the while trying to find more evidence by breaking into Malkovich’s home where Clooney (who thinks he is being followed by someone after him for sleeping with Malkovich’s wife). The not secret information causes a collision between lives and leads to the end of the movie.

Seriously, that is the plot. Actually sounds like it could be hilarious. It is not. Instead of hilarity, they chose a dark overtone and if you laugh at people’s stupidity and misfortunate not shown to you in a slapstick manner, well, I suppose you would think this is funny.

Can you endure unrealistic characters? Frances McDormand overacting a loser mid life single gal. George Clooney doing his Intolerable Cruelty impression by creating a cheese of a character and Brad Pitt doing his best impression of an 80s gym freak. If you like that, then be my guest. I thought that with good acting, great comedy, and big laughs, this could have had some great potential.

Instead, this movie is as awkward as the surprise it gives you about midway. Clooney’s character is building something and … you’re kidding, wow, didn’t see that coming…but really, no need to find out what it was, take this reviewer’s advice, and burn everything you know about this movie including that it exists after reading.

Similar Recommendations: Fargo, Intolerable Cruelty