A day in the life of a major studio head (Josh Brolin) circa 1950 as he rescues one of his starlets from smut peddlers, fends off twin gossip columnists (Tilda Swinton), preserves the honor of another actress (Scarlet Johansson), deals with a temperamental director (Ralph Fiennes) and a B Western star (Alden Ehrenreich) under-qualified for his current parlor drama all the while mulling over a lucrative job offer from Lockheed and trying to retrieve his A-list megastar (George Clooney), kidnapped for ransom by commie writers right off the set of his big budget Roman epic. Subversive Coenesque elements are on hand for
Hail Caesar as are many funny moments in this farce from the prolific brothers but this impressive studio system tour doesn't really tie its story or greater themes together (which is kind of let on by its many A list celebrity cameos cast---Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill also appear for some reason). Clooney again amusingly plays the fool, Brolin makes a fine anchor for the picture, Fiennes is a hoot and, a little ironically, virtual unknown Ehrenreich is the standout in this sea of celebs.
** 1/2 out of ****
