Our Choice For The Coen Brothers' Most Underrated Movie Is Totally Unexpected, But We Can Back It Up
We know what you're thinking. "Barton Fink," right? Well, whereas that's one of our favorite Coen brothers movies (and if we were to rank their films, it would end up near the top) we don't think any movie that won the Palme d'Or could be considered "underrated." Mostly unwatched, sure. But underrated? Naw.
How about "The Hudsucker Proxy?" Well, while we do enjoy that picture, and feel that it's underappreciated, we wouldn't call it underrated, either. With a 60% Rotten Tomatoes critical score, we think it's perfectly rated.
How about "The Hudsucker Proxy?" Well, while we do enjoy that picture, and feel that it's underappreciated, we wouldn't call it underrated, either. With a 60% Rotten Tomatoes critical score, we think it's perfectly rated.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 The Coen Brothers have a massively impressive catalog with four Academy Awards, but those
00:05 acclaimed films really just scratch the surface of what they've actually put out.
00:09 There's lots of underrated gems in there that we just don't talk about much in pop culture.
00:13 When it comes to underrated Coen productions, you might be thinking about Barton Fink, Hudsucker
00:17 Proxy, or the brilliant Miller's Crossing, but no, folks, look more recent, as we're
00:22 here to tell you that The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is the most underrated Coen Brothers
00:27 film of all time.
00:29 And here's why.
00:30 First of all, each segment could be a movie all on its own.
00:33 What could be better than six Coen films in one?
00:35 Every single story has a comprehensive beginning, middle, and end, and if you're anything like
00:39 me with my short millennial attention span, this is the best case scenario.
00:43 Also, despite the odd format, it does hit all of the trademark Coen Brothers touches.
00:49 You have the titular opening segment that feels quirky as hell, and then with segments
00:52 like Liam Neeson's Meal Ticket, we get bleakness more along the lines of No Country for Old
00:57 Men.
00:58 It's a goddamn Coen catalog in one film.
01:00 Next, it subverts but also appreciates the Western genre.
01:04 The Coens know Western, see 2010's True Grit for an example of that, and while this film
01:09 may be a twist on the genre, the Coens are filmmakers' filmmakers, and they pay homage
01:14 in the most sincere of ways.
01:16 With these elements in addition to the freaking amazing casting, it's hard to argue that Buster
01:20 Scruggs isn't at least a tad bit underrated, and we consider it to be among the best.
01:25 Thank you for watching, we'll see you next time.