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A remake of the 1955 British comedy of the same name.
The image that comes to mind, as you watch The Ladykillers, is of a puppeteer gone mad. The film is such a mishmash of characters and story lines you are often abruptly reminded that it has little coherence. The Coen Brothers, the crazed puppeteers who brought us brilliant films like Fargo and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, are either resting on their laurels or have completely lost their touch.
The Ladykillers, as noted above, is a reworking of a 1955 comedy. The first mistake the Coen Brothers made, in this remake, was to only update parts of the story. The most obvious discrepancy this produces is the irreconcilable casting conflict between the erudite Professor Dorr (Hanks), who waxes eloquently and epitomizes the quintessential Southern Gentleman, and the hip-hopping MacSam (Wayans). These two shouldn't exist in the same time and place. Some might consider this pairing to be part of the joke, like Mrs. Munson (Hall) being a supporter of the infamous Bob Jones University, but neither are funny.
The rest of the supporting cast, who are as generationally out of step with the Professor as MacSam is, exasperate this jarring inconsistency in the story. Suffice it to say, that if your main characters are stuck in a time loop, the theoretical and theatrical application of the principles of the theory of the time continuum require all of your characters to be from a synchronized time frame.
In writing this review I have attempted to purposely demonstrate a pertinacity for verbosity. My rationale for so doing was not to impress you with my command of the english language but rather, dear reader, to impart to you the humourous basis upon which The Ladykillers rests. The Professor's comedic value, and he is the only truly funny character in the movie, is directly linked to his ability to mix metaphors and quote Edgar Allen Poe. I think you'd agree, if you choose to see The Ladykillers, that this joke's capacity to tickle the funny bone is of limited duration.
Admittedly, the last 15 minutes of the film are the funniest. What makes this so is the preposterousness of the climatic events as opposed to the outright hilarious nature of the final sequence. Its hard to recommend a comedy with such a low ratio of funny moments to not so funny moments especially when you have to wait until the very end to laugh aloud.
The Ladykillers sorta grows on you. However, like other things that grow on you, The LadyKillers isn't often a laughing matter.
Running time - 104 minutes.
Alternative Reviews:
Roger Ebert's Review
Peter Travers / Rolling Stone Review
Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
The Ladykillers Official Web Site
