"The Ladykillers" Slays with Laughter

Tom Hanks returns to his comedic roots, and in doing so gives his strongest performance in ages, reveling in the nooks and crannies of the Joel and Ethan Coen’s twisty screenplay. Playing criminal mastermind Goldthwait Higginson Dorr, Ph.D,. a.k.a. The Professor, the formidable Southern gentleman meets his match when he nefariously lets a room from unsuspecting church-going little old lady Mrs. Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall, “Soul Food”). Not quite the rube he first suspected, Dorr’s new landlady has more than enough pluck and resolve to dent even the most foolproof of the Professor’s plans.

That plan is pretty foolproof, actually; it’s just the fools executing it that is the problem. It just so happens, Mrs. Munson’s cellar allows for easy tunneling to a local river boat casino and their vault. Under the guise of being a Baroque Renaissance Musicians (playing instruments of the age, natch), Dorr and his cronies; inside man Gawain MacSam (Marlon Wayans, “Scary Movie”), demolition expert Garth Pancake (J.K. Simmons, “Spider-Man,” “Hidalgo”), a Vietnamese tunneling expert known simply as The General (Tzi Ma, “The Quiet American”), Mississippi footballer Lump (Ryan Hurst, “Remember the Titans”); secretly burrow their way to a million dollar payday.

The Professor’s profundity aside, these men are not criminal geniuses. Yet, somehow and beyond all reason, they manage to pull off the heist. Pull it off, that is, until they realize their sweet, clueless, little old landlady isn’t anywhere near as clueless as they once thought. Faced with returning the money, going to church or going to jail, the quintet finds themselves contemplating murder so as to keep their ill-gotten wares. But matronly Mrs. Munson isn’t an easy target, and with interpersonal acrimony starting to rip the gang apart at the seams, the only killing to be done might be more within the team’s midst than it is without.

“The Ladykillers” is a funny movie. Seriously disturbed and definitely not for those expecting something light and syrupy, the Coen’s have concocted a mischievous satire of greed and ego that is devilishly entertaining. Like all of their films, it is the little things that stand out the most. From Mrs. Munson’s delicately drab and aged floral print gowns to a tabby cat running around with a finger in its mouth to a precession of garbage scows trudging endlessly to an immense island of filth, there is enough snicker-worthy material here to fill ten comedies, let alone this one.

Hall is a perfect foil for the erudite Hanks. Her Mrs. Munson knows what she thinks and things what she feels, and be prepared to watch out if you dare disagree with her or her morality-fueled worldview. She’s a proud Southern Baptist filled with joy every time she writes out her monthly five-dollar check to Bob Jones University, and she’s not about to let Hanks or his crew of unprepared moppets put one over on her.

The rest of the cast is just fine in their respective character roles. Of them all, the standout is Simmons. The seasoned character actor prances around the screen in 70’s era short shorts and Outback outfits so absurd the Crocodile Hunter would be embarrassed to be seen in them. I just loved how Simmons played his character with just enough warmth to be endearing, yet he’s crossed with so much pompous speechifying that this original good feeling quickly melts away into strong disgust. He turns the audience into just another member of the mob, hating him and his superiority complex just about as much as those in this nefarious quintet do.

“The Ladykillers” is Hanks’ show, however. He owns this movie with his perverse performance. Equal parts Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, Sherlock Holmes and Snidley Whiplash, the actor’s characterization ranks up there with some of the best he’s ever put on film. How wonderful is it seeing Hanks mine his baser tendencies, diving headfirst into the wickedly wicked pool that is the Coen brother’s beefy soup. His accent his otherworldly, the mannerisms are just this side of sublime, and there is a depraved look in The Professor’s eyes that sparkle with pure malevolent glee. Stunning and perfectly realized, Hanks seems so at ease inside his character’s skin it’s a shame he doesn’t go back to his comedic roots more often.

Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty about this movie that doesn’t work as well as it should. Unlike their best work, this picture moves in fits and starts never really able to find a consistent groove to run in. It’s also incredibly thin, the movie’s conclusion a forgone conclusion long before any of the central machinations play themselves out. I also really disliked Wayans, his one-note presence completely out of place amidst this group of multifaceted pros.