Film Catherine Zeta Jones George Clooney

2003 movie by Joel Coen

Intolerable Cruelty
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Joel Coen
Screenplay by	Robert Ramsey Matthew Stone Ethan Coen Joel Coen
Story by	John Romano Robert Ramsey Matthew Stone
Produced by	Ethan Coen Brian Grazer
Starring	George Clooney Catherine Zeta-Jones Geoffrey Rush Cedric the Entertainer Edward Herrmann Richard Jenkins Billy Bob Thornton
Cinematography	Roger Deakins
Edited by	Roderick Jaynes
Music by	Carter Burwell
Production companies	Imagine Entertainment Mike Zoss Productions Alphaville
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	September 2, 2003 (2003-09-02) (Venice) Oct 10, 2003 (2003-10-10)
Running fourth dimension	100 minutes
State	United States
Language	English
Upkeep	$60 million^[one]
Box office	$120.2 million^[2]

Intolerable Cruelty is a 2003 American romantic comedy moving-picture show directed and co-written by Joel and Ethan Coen, and produced by Brian Grazer and the Coens. The script was written past Robert Ramsey and Matthew Rock and Ethan and Joel Coen, with the latter writing the terminal draft of the screenplay. The moving picture stars George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Geoffrey Rush, Cedric the Entertainer, Edward Herrmann, Paul Adelstein, Richard Jenkins and Billy Bob Thornton.

Plot [edit]

Donovan Donaly, a TV soap opera producer, walks in on his wife Bonnie being intimate with an ex-swain. He files for divorce, and Bonnie hires Miles Massey, a pinnacle divorce attorney and the inventor of the "Massey pre-nup", a completely foolproof prenuptial understanding. Miles wins a large property settlement against Donaly, leaving him broke.

Private investigator Gus Petch tails the wealthy and married Rex Rexroth on a drunken night out with a blonde. When they stop at a cabin, Gus catches their tryst on video. He takes the video to Male monarch's married woman, Marylin Rexroth, a marriage-for-money predator. She files for divorce, demanding a large belongings settlement. Unable to afford a divorce settlement, Male monarch hires Miles to correspond him. Marylin's friend, series divorcée Sarah Sorkin warns Marilyn that Miles will be a unsafe opponent.

Marylin and her lawyer, Freddy Bender fail to reach an agreement with Miles and Rex. Bored Miles asks the fascinating Marylin to dinner, where they flirt. While they are out, Petch breaks in and copies her address book for Miles, who has his assistant search among the names for Marylin'south accomplice in predatory marriage. In court, Marylin feigns an emotional breakdown over King's infidelity, professing that she loved Rex unconditionally at first sight. Miles then calls "Puffy" Krauss von Espy, a Swiss hotel concierge located by his assistant. Puffy testifies that Marylin asked him to notice her a marriage target who was very rich, foolish, and a philanderer whom she could easily divorce, and that he pointed her to King. The divorce is granted, but Marylin gets null.

Seeking revenge against Miles, Marylin finds the now-penniless Donaly living on the street, still clutching his Emmy statuette, and offers him a chance to reclaim his lost celebrity. Soon later on, Marylin shows upward at Miles' office with her new fiancé, oil millionaire Howard D. Doyle. Marylin insists on the Massey prenup, which will go far absolutely impossible for her to claim whatever of her fiancée'due south avails in the event of a divorce, over both Howard and Miles's objections. Withal, Howard destroys it during the wedding, as a sit-in of love.

Six months later, Miles goes to Las Vegas, Nevada to requite the keynote address at a convention for divorce attorneys. He encounters Marylin, who has divorced Howard and presumably collected a sizable share of the Doyle Oil fortune. Notwithstanding, she admits that she is disenchanted with her wealthy but lonely life. Miles marries her on the spur of the moment, and signs the Massey prenup to prove that he has no interest in her fortune, but she tears it up. The next forenoon, Miles tells the convention that love is the most important affair, and that he is giving up divorce for pro bono work.

Shortly afterwards, Miles discovers that "Howard D. Doyle" is only an actor from i of Donaly's lather operas; Marylin tricked him, leaving his considerable wealth at run a risk. Desperate to save the firm's reputation, Miles' boss, Herb Myerson suggests hiring hitman "Wheezy Joe" to impale Marylin. Miles then learns that Marylin'due south ex-husband Rex has died without changing his volition, leaving her his entire fortune. Since she is at present the wealthier of the two parties, his assets are no longer at risk. A repentant Miles rushes to save Marylin from Joe, merely Marilyn has already offered to pay him double to impale Miles instead. In the confusion of the ensuing struggle, Joe mistakes his gun for his asthma inhaler and accidentally kills himself.

Afterwards, Miles, Marylin and their lawyers run into to negotiate a divorce. Miles pleads for a 2nd chance and retroactively signs a Massey prenup. Realizing her own feelings for him, she tears information technology up, and they kiss. Marylin reveals that to get Donaly'south help for supplying Howard, she gave him an idea for a hit Television receiver show, restoring his fortunes in the process: America's Funniest Divorce Videos, with Gus every bit the host.

Cast [edit]

George Clooney every bit Miles Massey
Catherine Zeta-Jones equally Marylin Hamilton Rexroth Doyle Massey
Geoffrey Blitz as Donovan Donaly
Cedric the Entertainer every bit Gus Petch
Edward Herrmann equally Rex Rexroth
Paul Adelstein as Wrigley
Richard Jenkins as Freddy Bough
Billy Bob Thornton as Howard D. Doyle
Julia Duffy as Sarah Batista O'Flanagan Sorkin
Jonathan Hadary as Heinz, the Baron Krauss von Espy
Tom Aldredge as Herb Myerson
Stacey Travis as Bonnie Donaly
Wendle Josepher as Miles' Receptionist
Jack Kyle equally Ollie
Isabell O'Connor as Judge Marva Munson
Irwin Keyes every bit Wheezy Joe
Colin Linden equally Begetter Scot
Kiersten Warren equally Claire O'Mara
Mia Cottet every bit Ramona Barcelona
George Ives equally Mrs. Gutman'due south lawyer
Blake Clark as convention speaker
Bridget Marquardt as Santa Iron tart #1
Camille Anderson every bit Santa Fe tart #2
Tamie Sheffield equally Santa Fe tart #3
Emma Harrison as Santa Fe tart #four

Development [edit]

Intolerable Cruelty is the Coens' first job as writers-for-hire. Information technology was based on an original concept past John Romano, writer of The Tertiary Phenomenon (Agnieszka Kingdom of the netherlands, 1999) and had been developed into a screenplay by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone, who wrote Large Trouble (Barry Sonnenfeld, 2002) and Life (Ted Demme, 1999).^[3] Amongst the script doctors who took a laissez passer on the screenplay was Carrie Fisher in 1994.^[four]

The script was passed amid directors and writers for several years, usually starting from the Coens' version.^[3]

Production [edit]

Initially the screenplay was attached to Ron Howard and then Jonathan Demme, who had planned to cast Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant in the atomic number 82 roles.^[5] Later on their planned motion-picture show of James Dickey's novel To The White Sea fell through, the Coens signed to direct the flick and dug out their original script to work with.^[5] Filming began on xx June 2002 after being delayed due to George Clooney'south schedule.^[3] Virtually of the picture show was shot around Beverly Hills; some was filmed in Las Vegas during a week at the end of production. With a budget of $60 one thousand thousand, it is the most expensive film directed by the Coens.^[3]

Reception [edit]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approving rating of 75% based on 187 reviews, with an boilerplate rating of half-dozen.80/10. The website's disquisitional consensus reads, "Though more mainstream than other Coen films, there are yet funny oddball touches, and Clooney and Zeta-Jones sizzle like old-fourth dimension movie stars."^{[half dozen]}

Box part [edit]

The motion picture opened with a gross of $12.five million. By the terminate of its run, information technology had grossed $35.3 million in the Us and $85.5 million in other countries for a worldwide full of $120.viii million.

Soundtrack [edit]

Original Motility Picture Soundtrack: Intolerable Cruelty

Soundtrack anthology past

Carter Burwell and various artists

Released

October 7, 2003

Genre

Film score

Length

50:l

Label

Hip-O

Coen Brothers moving picture soundtracks chronology

The Man Who Wasn't There
(2001)

Original Move Picture Soundtrack: Intolerable Cruelty
(2003)

The Ladykillers
(2004)

Professional person ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Movie Music UK	^[vii]
SoundtrackNet	^[viii]

Intolerable Cruelty is scored by Carter Burwell, in his 10th collaboration with the Coen Brothers.

The soundtrack album features a diversity of pop songs and cues from Burwell'due south score. "The Boxer", first by Simon and Garfunkel and then as covered by Colin Linden, opens and closes the album. A Canadian dejection musician, Linden had previously participated in Downward from the Mount, a live performance of music from the Coens' O Blood brother, Where Art Chiliad?, and he performs several Simon and Garfunkel songs in the film, including a snippet of Punky'southward Dilemma ("I wish I was a Kellogg's Corn Scrap"), not included on the soundtrack release. Other songs include "Suspicious Minds" past Elvis Presley, "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" past Édith Piaf and "Glory of Dearest" by Large Pecker Broonzy.

Tracks past Carter Burwell unless otherwise noted.

"The Boxer" (Simon and Garfunkel) – 5:09
"Intolerable Mambo" – ane:41
"Suspicious Minds" (Elvis Presley) – 4:33
"Hanky Panky Choo Choo" – 2:07
"Don't Weep Out Loud" (Melissa Manchester) – 3:48
"Feels Then Practiced" (Chuck Mangione) – 9:42
"You Fascinate Me" – one:xl
"April Come She Will" (written by Paul Simon, performed by Colin Linden) – 0:59
"Heather 2 Honeymoon" – 1:39
"If I Only Knew" (Tom Jones) – iv:xviii
"Dear Is Skilful" – three:26
"Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" (Édith Piaf) – ii:21
"No More Working" – 3:01
"Fully Exposed" – 1:46
"Glory of Love" (Big Neb Broonzy) – 2:xx
"The Boxer" (Colin Linden) – ii:20

References [edit]

^ Intolerable Cruelty: The Numbers
^ "Intolerable Cruelty (2003)". Box Office Mojo.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Robson, Eddie (2007). Coen Brothers - Virgin Film. Neat Britain: Virgin Books LTD. pp. 119–121. ISBN978-0753512685.
^ "Carrie Fisher, Script Doctor: Her Unknown Legacy Examined" by Peter Sciretta, Slash Film. Dec 29, 2016. Accessed May 20, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Walters, Ben (Nov 2003). "Bringing upward pension". Sight and Sound. British Motion picture Institute (BFI). 13 (11): 30. ISSN 0037-4806.
^ [i] Rotten Tomatoes
^ Moviemusicuk.us
^ Soundtrack.net