BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?
George Clooney is one of my least favorite actors, but I still respect the hell out of him. He does genuinely seem like a cool guy and he does a lot of good for those who need it, but I just can’t get into his movies or his acting. Over the years he’s developed into two standard role types. The first is his serious stuff where he’s involved in “intelligent movies” that normally involve him in a suit and tie and tons of “conviction”. Then he’ll “branch out” into comedy and attempt to be “quirky”. He comes off pretentious and douche to me. He has this whole faux “cocktail swagger” to him where it seems like he’s trying for dear life to maintain a Sinatra-like aura. That’s just me. Like I said, I still respect him but this list was hard to put together. The first movie I want to mention is this 2000 Coen Brother’s movie. In this Great Depression crime comedy Clooney shares the screen with John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson. They escape a chain gang and go on the run to retrieve a “treasure” Clooney promises them they’ll find. The movie is a fun ride and the “Soggy Bottom Boys” is pure movie magic. This is a case where despite the fact I’m not a Clooney fan I can ignore him enough as the movie is just that good. You can’t argue too much about the awesomeness of the Coen Brothers.
(THREE) MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS
This movie is NOT a Coens movie, but it comes off like it’s trying really hard to be so. I saw this last year and was pretty surprised. I enjoyed Clooney in his hippy role. It’s fun and the story is so crazy that you can’t help but smile as you’re taken on this journey. Then again, I think I’m morally obligated to enjoy any movie that stars Jeff Bridges.
(TWO) FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Is this cheating? Maybe, but I don’t think so. The movie still technically stars George Clooney, but it’s a stop-motion animated movie. Wes Anderson wrote and directed this underloved 2009 movie that not only stars Clooney’s voice, but Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and about a half dozen more awesome people. This is more a shout out for Wes Anderson than anything. Big ups.
(ONE) FROM DUSK TILL DAWN
Of all the George Clooney movies in the world I can easily, without hesitation, be able to point towards this movie as my favorite. Directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino, this gritty fugitive on the run-turn-vampire movie is very well done. To me, Clooney isn’t so “Clooney” in this movie. In this one he doesn’t so much have that “cocktail swagger” I spoke of before. You watch it and he’s “Seth Gecko” simply because of the environment he’s in and the masterfully crafted dialogue scribed by Tarantino. I’d be nice to see Clooney bust out some more roles like this. More pulpy, tongue-in-cheek, and at least without a suit and tie.
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