# Who Found "Oh Brother Where Art Though?" Hilarious? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 31, 2001, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348 "2001-07-31T16:09:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Godfrey\_Daniels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Godfrey\_Daniels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Godfrey_Daniels)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/21 "2001-07-31T18:58:15Z")
Definitely in the top five of my all time faves! Brilliant casting, acting, directing, cinematography, and the score is simply perfect! I wouldn’t have believed Clooney was capable of such a performance, but I really have to give him credit, he was superb. Favorite line: …sniff…sniff…“you been using my hair cream?” ( among many others! ) Really a fall-down-laughing kind of flick, at least for me. ---
**Author:** ![Godfrey\_Daniels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Godfrey\_Daniels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Godfrey_Daniels)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/22 "2001-07-31T19:00:27Z")
Oooops!! Please forgive the double post. I was timed out on the first one and didn’t realize it made the board. Sorry! ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/23 "2001-07-31T19:44:00Z")
I loved the movie. But was anyone else suprised that Clooney could not manage to sing Man of Constant Sorrow? **I** can sing that song and if I can sing a song then anybody on the planet should be able to sing that song. My favorite was the Klan rally scene and the way it borrowed from The Wizard of Oz. Add that song and top and it was both hysterical and terrifying at the same time. I also liked it when Clooney explained Baby Face Nelson’s mood swings. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/24 "2001-07-31T19:52:58Z")
Fabulous? Yes. Hilarious? No. I dont think I laughed out loud once. Amusing? Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/25 "2001-07-31T21:23:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by obfusciatrist \* > **I dont think I laughed out loud once.** Well, in light of your unoffical title as Sour Old Grouch of the SDMB, I’m not surprised. {insert smiley here…I am extremely fond of sour old grouches, and hope to be one myself when I get older; at the moment, I am a sour middle-aged grouch} I’m not sure if I laughed out loud either, but I sure as hell giggled a lot. It’s one of those rare films where you come out of the theater with a sore face from the constant grinning. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/26 "2001-07-31T21:24:34Z")
Loved it so much I bought it. I would mention my favorite part but it’s near the end. I finally gained respect for george clooney because of this movie. **Zebra** : My take on why he didn’t sing is so that there is some continuity between the version sung in the movie and the version released for airplay. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/27 "2001-07-31T21:31:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > I’m not sure if I laughed out loud either, but I sure as hell giggled a lot. It’s one of those rare films where you come out of the theater with a sore face from the constant grinning. Amen. The most through-and-through pleasurable cinematic viewing experience I’ve ever had. It’s hard to imagine a better film, for what it was trying to do (and thanks, **Cervaise** , for pinpointing the movie’s aims so [eloquently](http://www.moviegeek.homestead.com/files/Obrother.htm)). Count me among those surprised to be bitterly disappointed that George Clooney didn’t receive an Oscar nomination. “And stay out of Woolsworth!” ---
**Author:** ![Wildest\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/28 "2001-07-31T21:38:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mayberrydan \* > I finally gained respect for george clooney because of this movie. > > \*\* I know what you are talking about here. Although I did like him in 3 Kings too. To everyone else I guess ya’ll go to prove that I have good taste in movies 😉 thanks for the responses! ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/29 "2001-07-31T21:45:30Z")
“Three kings” totally slipped my mind…but a lot does. He was pretty good in it, although “O Brother…” seemed like a far harder movie to act in. ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/30 "2001-07-31T22:02:13Z")
I loved it. I watched it and _Family Man_ at my brother’s place friday night on DVD. Unfortunately, we watched _O, Brother_ first and really made _Family Man_ something of a disappointment. I felt before that Clooney was competent, but after Friday, I’d have to say that he’s really damn good. Another performance like this and he’ll really start earning what I used to think was an inflated salary. ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/31 "2001-07-31T22:05:41Z")
Oh, and my favorite scene was when they were getting paid for the recording. Something like “Only four of us can read and write, “non-existant band member #1” and “non-existant band member #2” will just have to sign their names with an ‘X’.” ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/32 "2001-07-31T23:23:13Z")
> [@](#): > > And stay out of Woolsworth! Now was that just the one store or the whole chain? > [@](#): > > I liked the movie, but I thought the ending was a little silly. Did anyone else think it was weird thatthat anyone would be surprised that a politician in Louisiana in the 1940’s would be down with the Ku Klux Klan? Or that said politician would be scandalized by such an association? Hollywood stereotypes notwithstanding, the KKK has for most of its history been a fringe group of nut jobs, and not something that most respectable Southern citizens would want to be associated with. The Klan did experience a surge in popularity in the late 1910’s and into the 1920’s, following the release of **Birth of a Nation** (a film which romanticized the role of the Klan in the aftermath of the Civil War). (That surge, by the way, was nationwide and not just a Southern phenomenon. In fact, I believe Indiana was pretty much Klan central in those days.) By the 1930’s (the time frame for **O Brother** ) the Klan was dwindling back down to a few whackos on the fringes. The decline continued in the 40’s and early 50’s, but then the Klan was reinvigorated following the Brown v. Board of Education decision ('55 I think?) and during the civil rights clashes that followed. By the time 1970 rolled around, the Klan was again on the wane, and has been ever since. If the movie erred at all regarding the popularity of the Klan in the 30’s, it erred on the side of making the Klan seem more mainstream than it was at that time. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_Juliet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cc9497/32.png) [@Lady\_Juliet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_Juliet)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/33 "2001-08-01T01:36:26Z")
I absolutely loved the movie. I thought it was a riot, and Clooney did a great job. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/34 "2001-08-01T01:43:45Z")
So, they showed the worst scenes in the trailers and At the Movies with Ebert, then? Those scenes made it look like The Three Stooges with less hitting and more pronounced accents… ---
**Author:** ![Tyklfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3e96dc/32.png) [@Tyklfe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyklfe)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/35 "2001-08-01T01:48:54Z")
Right here, I loved it! ---
**Author:** ![seriousart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@seriousart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seriousart)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/36 "2001-08-01T02:54:35Z")
Loved it! But then, I like most everything the Coens do. Definately the best movie I’ve seen this year (I saw it really late in it’s run). Incidentally, did anyone else happen to read the review in Entertainment Weekly for this film? Owen Gleiberman gave it an “F” and called it the “worst movie of the year”. And went on to describe it as:  “The latest misanthropic flimflam from the Coen brothers, is like an extended Three Stooges episode featuring an even stupider version of the cast of Hee Haw.” Which is especially inacurate, considering the rotten pile of Sweathog droppings known as Battlefield Earth came out mere months before. So next time you come across a review from our pal Owey, remember, he prefers Klingons in Kiss boots over superb movies like O Brother. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/37 "2001-08-01T03:08:28Z")
Wow, I must be a quick study if I am an old grouch. If you’re middle aged, Ukelele, then you probably have 20 years on me. I agree that Clooney was absolutely fantastic in this movie. But he has been improving by leaps and bounds since he learned to stop bobbing his head all the time. Early in his career you could have put an Ichiro uniform on him and Mariners fans would have camped out to get one. I’m horrible at remembering movie quotes. But my favorite was when the blind radio station guy told them how much he paid per person and Clooney immediately fabricated two other people in the room. ---
**Author:** ![orr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e47c2d/32.png) [@orr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orr)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/38 "2001-08-01T04:22:29Z")
_Possible Spoilers_ \* \* \* I thought this movie was great. I’ll say it’s my favorite Coen Brothers movie since “Raising Arizona”. A real pick-me-up after seeing “Dancer in the Dark”, the other movie I rented that day. Hmmm… Favorite parts of the movie? I’ll say John Turturro, the music, and the lines: -“I don’t want _FOP_, Goddamnit! I’m A Dapper Dan Man!” -“Do… not… seek… the treasure…” -The whole conversation w/the Wharvy gals and the scene in Woolworth’s. “I’m… I’m the… the paterfamilius!” “Well… YOU CAN’T MARRY MY WIFE!” Oh man, there’s so many memorable lines in this movie. I couldn’t list them all. One thing I didn’t quite get was the whole scene with Big Dan (the Cyclops). Why did Ulysses just sit there eating corn while Big Dan beat the crap out of Delmar? And when Big Dan started moving towards Ulysses, all he did was stare at him w/that goofy expression on his face and say something like “What’s going on, Big Dan?” What did I miss here? Is it some refence to The Odyssey? ---
**Author:** ![pantom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/34f0e0/32.png) [@pantom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantom)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/39 "2001-08-01T05:33:52Z")
Great movie. Those guys did The Big Lebowski? Another comedic masterpiece. And it shoulda got an Oscar. But those guys never do seem to take to comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Nocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@Nocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nocturne)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348/40 "2001-08-01T06:02:00Z")
One of my favorite parts in the movie is after Clooney has explained that there is no treasure, and Pete and Delmar have a discussion like this. Pete: They’ll tack on 50 years to my sentence. I’ll be 84 years old. Delmar: Well, I’ll only be 81! (or 82 or whatever). Another one that my friend Elizabeth and I say all the time… “Them SI-RENES done loved Pete up and turned him into a horny toad!” And another: Clooney: Well, ain’t it a small world, spiritually speaking. Pete and Delmar here have just been baptized and saved. I guess I’m the only one who remains unaffiliated. Great movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-found-oh-brother-where-art-though-hilarious/74348.md?page=3)