Burn After Reading Review

I'm not even sure how to respond to this movie.

But let's lay the groundwork a bit for you to understand: so this movie is about this agent (John Malkovich) who has a drinking problem thus leading to his demotion. He doesn't take it lightly and he quits. Later he decides to write a memoir about his experiences in the CIA, but because his wife's divorce attorney advises his wife (Tilda Swinton) to copy his personal files and burn them onto a CD, his memoir winds up in risk of being leaked. Believe it or not, the CD winds up in a gym manned by some other guy. Even more unbelievable is that a gym trainer (Brad Pitt at his silliest) who reads it declares it as government information, and because this other gym trainer (Frances McDormand) wants to get money for cosmetic surgery, she agrees on the plan to bribe the former spy so they won't have to disseminate the files. When they meet, ludocrosity ensues in this storyline and the others in between.

See? This crap is crazy, the silliness baffling, the weirdness... haunting. But thank the heavens for the Coen brothers because this thing would've turned out extremely convoluted if done wrong. Them along with the all-star line-up, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand- oh my God, the offering is tempting to watch just for the sake of star power!

But does it do what it intends to do? Yeah I guess, I mean, it is a spy comedy after all, and I got a few chuckles, but no belly-laughs. The story is weird enough, and occasionally thrilling even, to keep you glued to your seat and watch the proceedings. Yeah, you can say that it was an OK movie as far as I know, I mean...

It has its moments, but I think it ends up as being forgettable, but it's not necessarily disposable comedic fare. The thing about it is that you just have to keep track of the otherwise extremely quirky characters who all fit the tone of the unique, quirky movie. I really don't know if the uniqueness of this flick even works for it or detracts from it, really, so I surely can't say that this movie is gonna be the crowd favorite, but if you're bored and need a little weirdness in your life, then go get watching Burn After Reading. Otherwise, just look into it yourself whether you think you'll like it or not, because for the record, we're not even talking about some ol' Judd Apatow toilet humor flick here. It's even pretty darn smart.

RATING: 6.7/10

Posted with LifeCast