The Ladykillers (2004)

Directors:

Ethan Coen
Joel Coen

Writers (WGA):

Joel Coen (screenplay) &
Ethan Coen (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

The greatest criminal minds of all time have finally met their match.

Plot:

An eccentric, if not charming Southern professor and his crew pose as a band in order to rob a casino, all under the nose of his unsuspecting landlord: a sharp old woman.

Plot Keywords:

Casino | Professor | Remake | Sculpture | Gun

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Tom Hanks	...	Professor G.H. Dorr
Irma P. Hall	...	Marva Munson
Marlon Wayans	...	Gawain MacSam
J.K. Simmons	...	Garth Pancake
Tzi Ma	...	The General
Ryan Hurst	...	Lump Hudson
Diane Delano	...	Mountain Girl
George Wallace	...	Sheriff Wyner
John McConnell	...	Deputy Sheriff
Jason Weaver	...	Weemack Funthes
Stephen Root	...	Fernand Gudge
Lyne Odums	...	Rosalie Funthes (as Baadja-Lyne Odums)
Walter K. Jordan	...	Elron (as Walter Jordan)
George Anthony Bell	...	Preacher
Greg Grunberg	...	TV Commercial Director

Also Known As:

El Quinteto de la muerte (Argentina) (International: Spanish title) [es]
I symmoria ton pente (Greece) [el]
Kadin avcilari (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Ladykillers (Finland) [fi]
Ladykillers (France) [fr]
Ladykillers - surm vanamoorile! (Estonia) [et]
Les tueurs de dames (Canada: French title) [fr]
Matadores de Velhinha (Brazil) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated R for language including sexual references.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Vietnamese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Malaysia:18SX (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | France:U | South Korea:15 | Malta:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:14A | Chile:TE | Czech Republic:U | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:MG6 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:T | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #40668)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The exterior shot of the riverboat casino is an actual casino on the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Ameristar lettering on the "paddlewheel" was edited out and the movie casino's name put in its place. In the movie, the casino has closing hours while the Ameristar casino is a 24/7 operation (the entire parking lot beside the boat was emptied for the shot). Additionally, 2 large river bridges that would normally be at the left side of the frame are edited out also.

Goofs:

Continuity: During Professor Dorr's recitation of Poe at Mrs. Munson's tea, the amount of wax that has dripped down from the candles behind him changes from shot to shot.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sheriff Wyner: Unh... Oh! Afternoon, Miss Munson.
Marva Munson: Afternoon, Sheriff. You know the Funthes boy?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Benchwarmers (2006)

Soundtrack:

Concerto Grosso in D Major, Op. 6, No. 4

Yuck!!

This movie is the worst disappointment I've had in a long time. I love the original Ealing comedy this is based on & was so excited when I heard the Coen brothers were remaking it, with Tom Hanks to boot. What happened???

Several others have commented on the jarring changes in tone & this is a major problem. The scenes with the old lady evoke a 50's feeling, then suddenly you're in a casino with the F-word spouting every 5 seconds. What the heck is that?? What's the need for all the cursing at all? It's just not funny.

Tom Hanks is a mess. I think it's the script mainly, the majority of his lines are confusing mush. I read somewhere that he didn't view the original before making this, but his sniveling laugh sure looks like a poor imitation of Alec Guinness's monstrously funny snickers. You even get a little of the teeth movement, but again, nothing to compare with Guinness.

The other characters are uninspired & not as well drawn as the originals, with the exception perhaps of "The General" who came off pretty well. It's hard to compete with Herbert Lom & Peter Sellars, of course, but couldn't they come up with anything better than this? The munitions guy was the worst (yes, more than Marlon Wayons' stereotyped role) and his irritable bowel syndrome....gee, nothing like toilet humor to bring on the laughs!! You just don't care about these guys!

Lastly, the old lady character was okay, but no match for Katie Johnson in the original. She was too sharp, too strong. Most of the humor in the original came from the old lady being so dottily sweet, mild and (seemingly) frail. You could see why the police thought she was a little daft. Not so with the new character, I didn't buy it at all.

Don't waste your money on this one. Go for the original and, while you're at it, try some of the other Ealing comedies, too.