They did a very good job in the marketing of this movie to make it look like the standard kind of romantic comedy I really hate. But right from the opening song over a laidback shot of Geoffrey Rush driving, right to the pitch black comedy of a goon shooting himself in the face after mistaking his gun for his inhaler, it’s got the Coen Brothers all over it, and that’s the most pleasant movie surprise I’ve had in a long, long time, ‘cos I wasn’t looking forward to watching this at all, and almost skipped it yet again this time. George Clooney, with his constant teeth-checking, isn’t too far removed from his character in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and with all the ridiculous names (Rex Rexroth, Miles Massey, Donovan Donaly, Heinz, the Baron Krauss von Espy, Judge Marva Munson) it fits more comfortably in the screwball comedy category of Coen movies with O Brother, The Hudsucker Proxy, and Raising Arizona than I’d expected. It’s also surprisingly, if quirkily, romantic in places. Favourite line, I’ve gotta repeat it here, “Can I have a green salad?” “What the f**k color would it be?”

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