# Burn After Reading **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 1, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983 "2009-02-01T15:01:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HolyFreakingMoly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ba0ec/32.png) [@HolyFreakingMoly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HolyFreakingMoly)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/1 "2009-02-01T15:01:46Z")
Yeah, I know… Old. I have children, rarely make it to theatre, much to my chagrin… I just caught it on pay per view. I loved it. Like a suburban Fargo. Some of the Coen’s best work in my opinion and Brad Pitt was surprisingly hilarious! What say you? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/2 "2009-02-01T15:56:07Z")
[Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=482932) is my earlier thread on the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/3 "2009-02-01T17:24:38Z")
CIA Superior: What did we learn, Palmer? CIA Officer: I don’t know, sir. CIA Superior: I don’t fuckin’ know either. I guess we learned not to do it again. CIA Officer: Yes, sir. CIA Superior: I’m fucked if I know what we did. CIA Officer: Yes, sir, it’s, uh, hard to say CIA Superior: Jesus Fucking Christ. The critics were largely meh on the movie but I thought it was brilliant, their best comedy since _The Big Lebowski_ (and a great relief after the disappointments that were [iIntolerable Cruelty\* and the ill-considered remake of _The Ladykillers_). They basically took the whole spy/conspiracy thriller and turned it on its head–the anti-Robert Ludlum. I suspect like _The Big Lebowski_ it will improve with repeated viewings as the viewer starts to connect seemingly disconnected actions earlier in the film to later consequences. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/4 "2009-02-01T18:07:06Z")
Ian Fleming fans wish that espionage was like Fleming’s novels. Tom Clancy fans hope that espionage is like Clancy’s novels. I have a nagging fear that this movie is probably the most realistic spy movie ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/5 "2009-02-01T18:10:09Z")
Loved this flick. Saw it twice in the theater (a rare thing for us to do). Organizing a party to see it on our bigscreen, with select friends. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/6 "2009-02-01T22:03:31Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I have a nagging fear that this movie is probably the most realistic spy movie ever made. The more I read of British, American, and Russian intelligence efforts during the Cold War, the more I am convinced this is the case. And it would be almost trivial to turn a Le Carre novel into a broad parody of intelligence work, and indeed, _The Honorable Schoolboy_ (the middle of the ‘Karla Trilogy’) was practically that. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/7 "2009-02-01T22:29:14Z")
> [@HolyFreakingMoly](#): > > Brad Pitt was surprisingly hilarious! > > What say you? I normally like Brad Pitt but, apart from a few moments, I thought he was pretty weak in this one. I felt like he was trying to sell the character too hard. Liked the movie, though. I think I’ll like it even better the second time if I ever watch it again. ---
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/8 "2009-02-01T23:12:32Z")
I haven’t seen it because of the violence. Is it really horrible? Some violence I can stand, like in _The Whole Nine Yards_. For some reason that didn’t bother me. But I couldn’t watch _Fargo_. ---
**Author:** ![HolyFreakingMoly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ba0ec/32.png) [@HolyFreakingMoly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HolyFreakingMoly)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/9 "2009-02-01T23:29:11Z")
It’s as violent as Fargo but I don’t consider it a “violent” movie by any means. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/10 "2009-02-02T00:39:33Z")
I just saw it. Definitely meh. The only scenes that were actually funny were the ones with David Rasche and J.K. Simmons. Brad Pitt’s character was potentially funny, but they didn’t do anything with it. The rest never got beyond mildly amusing. Even **The Ladykillers** was funnier, and that’s setting a pretty low bar. ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/11 "2009-02-02T01:17:47Z")
Yes, I think it probably was the most realistic spy movie ever made. Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/12 "2009-02-02T01:35:44Z")
> [@Lillith\_Fair](#): > > I haven’t seen it because of the violence. Is it really horrible? The violence isn’t particularly gratuitous or protracted, but when it happens (such as the shooting of Chad, or when Osborne Cox attacks someone he believes to be a burglar and blackmailer with a roofing axe) it is sudden and visceral. I’d say it’s not for the squeamish. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/13 "2009-02-02T01:51:36Z")
Add me to the list of people who suspect it is the most accurate movie ever made about the CIA (in spirit, if not in details). ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/14 "2009-02-02T02:59:27Z")
How funny to see this thread – I just happened to watch it for the first time last night. The overall story went in fits and starts, and it was hard to know who to root for. _Everyone_ was so self focused and selfish that it was hard to be sympathetic to anyone, although I was marginally pissed that Marge Gundersen and Manager Guy couldn’t be together at the end, they were the only likeable characters. Malkovich was great, but I always thought he had the volume up to 11 the whole performance; he could have backed off and been much more interesting (and surprising, when he flipped out). Actually one role I thought was done amazingly well was Malkovich’s horrid bitch wife. That actress pulled that off pretty damned good. Pitt was… okay. He really did pull off being some 22-year-old dumbshit, esp considering he’s 45. But it doesn’t seem like a stretch otherwise to be a goof. ---
**Author:** ![HolyFreakingMoly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ba0ec/32.png) [@HolyFreakingMoly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HolyFreakingMoly)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/15 "2009-02-02T06:11:46Z")
I loved Pitt’s character… Hyperactive bimbo and his dancing cracked me up every time… I’m easy I guess and I’m a sucker for the Coen Bros and Frances McDormand. I did love the scenes in the CIA office with the attempts at explaining what the fuck was going on. John Malkovich was good but heavens to mergatroid he is one unattractive sot! Ugliest knees in a full feature movie Oscar goes to… I agree, the bitch wife was played beautifully. I LOVED Fargo and this was close for me. No Bill Macy however… Not sure how I feel about that. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/16 "2009-02-02T14:11:02Z")
I loved the Clooney character. We all know someone just like him. The uveiling of the “apparatus” was so hillariously unexpected. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/17 "2009-02-02T16:09:30Z")
> [@Batsinma\_Belfry](#): > > I loved the Clooney character. We all know someone just like him. I liked the fact that he wasn’t \*completely \*full of shit. For instance, when he blustered that he’d never forget his combat training… he wasn’t kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/18 "2009-02-02T16:25:57Z")
We just rented it this weekend, and loved it. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. The CIA superior quote Stranger posted upthread was among the funniest bit, because it seems so out of character for an authority like that (in the movies at least, and there are exceptions, of course). I thought it was great, and my personal tomatometer would register 85-95%. Not perfect, but pretty damned good. ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/19 "2009-02-02T18:16:23Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > How funny to see this thread – I just happened to watch it for the first time last night. > > The overall story went in fits and starts, and it was hard to know who to root for. _Everyone_ was so self focused and selfish that it was hard to be sympathetic to anyone, although I was marginally pissed that Marge Gundersen and Manager Guy couldn’t be together at the end, they were the only likeable characters. > . The Manager Guy was a likeable schlub, but Marge was terrible. She was superficially pleasant, but self centered and controlling. She was willing to let two of her friends die in exchange for plastic surgery she didn’t really need. I enjoyed the movie, but I will say the change in tone during the closet scene was extremely jarring. In Fargo, you kinda of always knew the bad guys were capable of terrible things, but in this one, it just kind of came out of nowhere. Jonathan ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983/20 "2009-02-02T20:50:53Z")
> [@Strassia](#): > > She was willing to let two of her friends die in exchange for plastic surgery she didn’t really need. Did she ever find out about the two friends getting offed? I thought the CIA covered up everything (“Burn the body!”). I don’t see how she’d find out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-after-reading/483983.md?page=2)