Suburbicon

2017 black comedy

Rating: 11/20

Plot: The character Matt Damon plays finds his life turned upside-down when some unwanted visitors come over.

The Coens wrote this and then apparently realized that they had already made this movie and put it aside. That didn't bother Clooney though who combined it with another story and let her rip. While it all sounds exciting on paper, it's unfortunately a huge misstep for everybody involved.

The actors--Damon, Moore, loads of extras, and especially a scene-stealing Oscar Isaacs--do what they can with sub-par material, but the movie just isn't funny enough, dramatic enough, realistic enough, stylish enough, or complex enough to work. It's a movie with a lot of Coen-esque moments, just like you'd expect going in, but it feels kind of like a garage band deciding to cover the hits of The Beatles or something. Some of the right notes are hit, and some of the songs sound kind of like how the originals sounded, but there's still something blandly off about the whole endeavor. You can only almost tap your foot to the thing.

Most annoying was that side-plot with a black family that has moved into the all-white suburb. I know Clooney has the best of intentions here, but the social commentary coming from their plight just seems forced and ineffective. In a way, the very realistic--although it's kind of a Hollywoodized realism that feels a bit hyperbolic--drama that unfolds with that family is almost pushed aside to focus on the story with Matt Damon's family. The violent threats, harassment, and heartache the black family endures is marginalized because the white people's story is a little more unpredictable and entertaining. It's like, Clooney is saying, "Look at how terrible racism and bigotry is!" and then saying, "But never mind that, everybody, because Matt Damon and his sister-in-law are probably screwing each other!"

Now it's very possible that Clooney is smarter than me and that that is the whole point of his movie. If it is, I'll reevaluate. 

I saw this movie with a theater filled with elderly people, by the way. I'm not sure if it was some sort of senior discount deal or not, but it was a bunch of old people and then me. I didn't ask them what they thought of the movie. I didn't hear any of them cheering the racists on, so that's good.