The Hudsucker Proxy
"You know - for kids!"

I love the Cohen Brothers' films. Even when I hate their films, I love their films. Sure, they're an acquired taste, but that shouldn't put you off The Hudsucker Proxy just because they're the ones behind it. Set in 1958, it tells the story of Norville Barnes, a simple soul from Muncie, Indianna, who goes to New York to seek his fortune. Whilst there he ends up being promoted from the mail room of Hudsucker Industries to being president of the company, thanks to the fact that the previous president has recently jumped out of a window and plummeted 44 floors (45, including the mezzanine) to his death. This promotion is not for the company's good, however, since the board (afraid of having Waring's stock bought by the general public) are using Norville as a stooge to ruin the company and reduce the stock prices to a level where they can buy up a controlling share. Norville, however, has other plans; namely the invention of a great new toy for kids that he is sure will make the company's fortune. Since this invention turns out to be the hula-hoop, he is naturally proven right.

This film has a special place in my heart because I saw it at roughly the same time that everyone was still worshipping at the altar of Quentin Tarrantino (boo! hiss!), sparking off the whole 'post-modernist' debate that is still raging today. Whereas Tarantino's films fall into the typical trap of most 'post-modernist' works, being all detached style and no content, The Hudsucker Proxy proves that occasionally 'post-modernist' films *can* contain both! Taking the idea of Frank-Capra-like whimsy as its basic model, the film then uses the angle of the ironic knowing 90s to twist this into something free of the schmalz that Capra loved so much without sacrificing the plot. So the million dollar idea turns out to be the first great fad that set the tone of the toy market for the rest of the century; the taxi drivers who narrate one sequence end it by indulging in product placement; and the wise old Afro-American who looks after the giant clock ends up saving Norville from committing suicide with a gesture that tells the audience 'This is a film. We can do what we want'. And at the end of it all the good guy ends up as official chairman, the bad guy goes to the sanitorium, and everyone lives commercially ever after.

Of course the sets are a fantastic mixture of 50s architecture and 30s and 40s art deco, topped off by a computer generated giant clock that is simply breathtaking. The music is used well throughout, with a particularly good use of the them from the ballet Spartacus, and the acting is superb. Paul Newman does brilliantly cast against type as the villain, Tim Robbins plays the sort of good-natured geek that he could do in his sleep, but the real honours must go to Jennifer Jason-lee for her fast talking female reporter 'who thinks she's one of the boys' with a voice straight out of the 1930s screwball comedies and a wonderfully sassy attitude. Oh, and John Mahony (who plays Martin Crane in the show 'Fraiser') is also good in it as the newspaper boss.

(Please note, all pictures displayed here are not mine are used without permission of their owners because I'm recommending that you go out and rent/see/buy a copy of this film, thus increasing their profits. However, should they disapprove, please can they mail me and I'll remove them.)

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