Burn After Reading

An absolutely hilarious story about 2 dimwitted gym employees who find what they believe to be government secrets. They then try to turn a profit on the disc, one to help finance plastic surgery. This is a must watch, funny, drama, and a contraption built by Clooney that will leave you speechless.

“What a clusterf***.” The Coen brothers’ black comedy Burn After Reading is a complete mess that doesn’t deliver that many laughs. When two gym trainers find a computer disc containing the memoir of a CIA analyst they attempt to blackmail him; meanwhile a philandering US marshal grows increasingly paranoid that he’s being spied on by someone. Starring George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, John Malkovich and Brad Pitt, the film has an impressive cast that gives fairly good performances. The problem is, most of the characters are unlikable assholes. And the plot goes nowhere, which would be alright if it was a fun ride or had some clever twist of irony…but it doesn’t. Still, the satiric wit of the Coen brothers makes for a few fun comedic moments. Burn After Reading is entertaining at times but doesn’t really amount to much.