Hail, Caesar! is one of those movies that Hollywood was always going to lap up, and then get confused about when it tanks (disclaimer: I have no idea if it did well or not, I just wouldn't be surprised). And the best thing about that is the film pretty much satirises itself in the process, taking every opportunity to take a good, long laugh at Hollywood's expense. The result could have been a pandering trainwreck of meta, arthouse snobbery, but thankfully it walks that line well and instead shines an absurd, silly, and often bizarre light on the eccentricities of its subject matter.

Of course, the stellar cast are absolutely the reason that the film works, but the direction and scripting are far from insignificant in their own rights. Clooney plays the bumbling, naive starlet extremely well, and his interactions with the tough-as-nails Josh Brolin are some of the best the film has to offer. The way he gets fully taken in and convinced that Communism is a positive concept, but a single backhanded slap has him completely 180, caught me completely off guard 😂

Elsewhere, I can't possibly ignore the completely batshit arc that Channing Tatum goes on. From his initial introduction in a brilliantly choreographed (and performed) song and dance routine – which is wonderfully subversive in its lewdness – through to his finale fuck up boarding the Soviet submarine, I think it's fair to say that you wouldn't predict where his character ends up.

Indeed, the film has all the classic hallmarks of a Cohen outing that people love. It's deeply interested in the absurdities of human interactions and motivations; it neatly skewers multiple idiosyncratic ideals and conceits of the era it finds itself set in; and it beautifully weaves together multiple bizarre narratives, using happenstance and dumb luck just as much as intentional actions to bring all the pieces together. No one involved (least of all the audience) is ever holding even half of the cards, and the result is an organic clusterfuck of giggle-worthy scenarios. It doesn't quite live up to the likes of Burn After Reading (and it's a far cry from Fargo), but it's also pretty hard to fault in any real sense and, if you're a fan of their work, it's definitely worth setting some time aside to watch.