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The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
Starring Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Newman, and Charles Durning. Cinematography by Roger Deakins. Edited by Thom Noble. Produced by Ethan Coen. Written by Sam Raimi, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. Directed by Joel Coen.
When Waring Hudsucker (played by Charles Durning), the president of Hudsucker Industries, takes a leap out of a forty fourth story window, the company’s board members are in a tizzy to acquire the loose shares before they are offered to the public. In an effort to drive the price down to an affordable level, they appoint Norville Barnes (played by Tim Robbins), a recent hire in the mail room who happens to be the biggest idiot they can find, as the new man in charge. He accepts the job and quickly starts rambling on and on about his new idea for a kid’s toy; the Hula Hoop. They eventually humor him and the product is a monster success. The company is now more profitable than ever and the board is not happy.
In 1983, while searching for a distributor for Blood Simple, Joel and Ethan Coen lived with their friend Sam Raimi. They used their time together wisely and wrote a few screenplays. Two films that came out of those months were Crimewave and The Hudsucker Proxy. While the filmmaking trio felt that the time was appropriate for Crimewave, they decided that The Hudsucker Proxy would require more funding than they could have commanded at the time so it was filed away.
Nine years later the Coen’s four film obligation with Circle Releasing Corp. was completed and they were in search for another producer. Joel Silver, who was not credited as a producer for the film, felt that the Coen brothers had not yet had a commercial hit because they had yet to work with any commercially viable material. He thought that The Hudsucker Proxy was funny enough to be that hit. He was wrong. The film was, and continues to be, the Coen’s largest box office failure of their careers.
The financial disaster of this film is no indication of it’s quality. It does not display the depth of story or characters that one could want in a film, but it’s a comedy and the genre isn’t typically known for its plot intricacies. It’s sharp and witty when it wants to be and has that quirky quality to it the Coens are famous for. It’s also visually stunning. The Coens certainly put their expanded budget to good work on the art direction and special effects. It’s not going to change your life or anything, but it’s worth watching every once in a while for a good laugh.
Budget: $25,000,000
Total US Gross: $2,816,518
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 111 Minutes
US Release Date: 3/11/94
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (intended ratio)
Awards:
Cannes Film Festival:
Nominated for the Golden Palm.
Tagline: A Comedy Of Invention.
Quote: “You know… for kids!”
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