All that gym sales manager, Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) really wants is some plastic surgery. And she just may have found a way to afford it. Chad (Brad Pitt) is one of her nerdy trainers who just happens to come across a disk containing the memoirs of a CIA-crazy-man named Osborne Cox (John Malkovich). Cox is a bit angry because he’s been let-go from his job, has a drinking problem, and his wife (Tilda Swinton) is having an affair with Harry (George Clooney.) So now that this is one big happy incestuous family of greedy players, blackmail is a sure way to come out on top. Gee, sounds like a Coen Brothers film. And it is! In the style of “The Big Lebowski” or “Fargo” where the world revolves around evil, money and greed – and often without an ending that ever tells the players how they were all connected – this one holds true to form and delivers the goods. While some will complain of the over-acting of each character, Screen Queen finds their performances just as they should be, matching the movie’s tone and the absurdness of the entire plot, which by the way, was a hard thing to weave together. And, finally, should Pitt ever fails at his world peace missions, he certainly could have a job as a comic goof-ball opposite somebody like Seth Rogen. Three tiaras
