Coming and Coen

When the Coen Brothers make a movie, you know there is going to be a twist.  Only they would come up with a pregnant sheriff tracking down a used car salesman feeding his victims into a wood chipper in Fargo.  Then there is the Hudsucker proxy mixing suicide, stock scams, and hula hoops.  Barton Fink takes you to the hell known as writing screen plays in Hollywood.  Raising Arizona has an infertile ex-con and his ex-cop wife kidnapping a more trouble than he's worth baby. 

This week's Take This Tune is the principal theme song from the Coens', "O Brother, Where Art Thou".  Set in depression era Mississippi, on the surface this is a jailbreak movie, with the main character trying to get back to his family.  Somewhere around minute 30 or so, something starts to feel familiar.  If you have read the classics, you start to suspect (Oh they didn't, did they?)  Characters named Penny and Ulysses (Say What? HUH?) and it all starts to fall into place.  Homer has moved to Mississippi.  Now this Penny isn't quite as faithful as the Greek Penelope, but the washing women temptresses have their Siren arms shoulder deep in suds, the lotus eaters are marching numbly into riverside baptisms, while John Goodman's one-eyed character makes a darn good cyclops.  There are a lot more references, but you will have to read the above link to get the full flavor.  If nothing else, it will give you a good reason to rent the movie again.

Throughout the whole movie there is the wonderful blue grass music and the Soggy Mountain Boys who probably stole their name from the Foggy Mountain Boys with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.  That in turn gives me an excuse to visit You Tube ONE MORE TIME because there is no better way to spend time than, listening to Foggy Mountain Breakdown.