A Serious Man – Directed by Ethan and Joel Coen – 2009

The Coens Do Job

Story: This is the story of Job, set in the 1970's as a bizarre sort of comedy. And, it's really funny. I'm not sure why, as I usually dislike movies where I'm supposed to look feel bad or embarrassed for a genuinely nice fellow like in Meet the Parents or What About Bob, but this one worked for me. Then again, the Coen Bros. Do lots of things that I would probably reject in the hands of some other director (see the epic fail in No Country For Old Men). B

Acting: There were lots of great actors, but I have to give a shout out to Simon Helberg who plays Wolowitz on my current favorite sit-com, the Big Bang Theory. I had no idea that he was in this movie until he appeared on screen, and I was like, “Hey, it's Wolowitz!” Michael Stuhbarg, Sari Lennick, and Richard Kind all do a great job, but I thought the star actor was Fred Melamed as Sy Ableman. He just plays the nicest, most compassionate douche that just slept with your wife and honestly thinks that you should move out of your own house for the good of your children. A

Visuals: This movie was very brown in color, or maybe more of a light tan. Whatever, that color was everywhere. It provided a hazy, should be depressing but oddly light hearted tone to the movie. Well, Mel Brooks always used yellow on the grounds that it was funny color, and it worked. B

Sound: The music fit the general era they were trying to establish, even if they say it was supposed to by 1967 but make reference to an album that didn't come out till the 70's. It was fairly quiet, understated movie. B

Overall: In many ways, this felt like a live action version of Charlie Brown, in that he never gets to kick the football. Ever. In some small way, I kept thinking of the cartoon Invader Zim while watching this, in that the humor comes through watching horrible things in an exaggerated manner. B


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