Wonkette Movie Night: O Brother, Where Art Thou?
'Well, I don't want Fop, goddamn it! I'm a Dapper Dan man!'
I am a man of constant sorrow, I've seen trouble all my days.
I would guess that many of us are feeling that lyric deeply, as the world seems to be spinning out of control. The three men at the heart of O Brother, Where Art Thou? know that feeling. As the movie opens they are escaping from a chain gang in 1937 Mississippi. They are pursued by the ruthless Sheriff Cooley (weird how ruthless and sheriff always seem to go together) and his bloodhound. Ulysses has convinced his two fellow convicts that he knows where there is a fortune buried, just waiting for them if they can get to it before the area is flooded for a dam.
The film somewhat follows Homer’s The Odyssey, as the men encounter challenges on their trek and several interesting people. Including three beautiful women, Sirens who beckon them onto the rocks of a river with their song. There is a one eyed brute of a man, a Cyclops. But they also cross paths with Baby Face Nelson and the Ku Klux Klan. It is an epic journey that takes them to a crossroads where they pick up a young Black musician who tells them he sold his soul to the devil in return for the skill to play guitar.
They hear of a man who will pay you cash to sing into a can. Desperate for money they introduce themselves to the owner of the radio station WEZY as The Soggy Bottom Boys. The owner gives the boys a chance and turns what they sing into a vinyl record. And as the men continue on their journey, Ulysses leads them in a race against the coming flood while trying to hide the truth behind his desperate need to escape. But all the while unbeknownst to them their song has gotten a lot of fans. The stores cannot keep “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow” on the shelves.
When the flood arrives they may find their treasure but it might not look like what they expected.
The song “A Man Of Constant Sorrow” is a traditional folk song originally recorded in 1913 by Dick Burnett under the title “Farewell Song.” It has been covered many times, including by Bob Dylan in 1963.
O Brother, Where Art Thou stars George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson, John Turturro, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, and Charles Durning. Directed by Ethan and Joel Cohen.
O Brother, Where Art Thou is available for $3.99 in the usual places.
To make requests and see the movie lists and schedules go to WonkMovie.
The animated short is The Flood by Meppity.
Our next Movie Night selection is Who Framed Roger Rabbit and it is available with subscription on Disney+. $3.99 in the usual places.
One of the differences between having a cat instead of a dog is when you drop popcorn you have to pick it up. The popcorn that is.
𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀:
Despite the fact that Ethan Coen described the Odyssey as "one of my favorite storyline schemes" neither of the brothers had read the epic and were only familiar with its content through adaptations and numerous references to the Odyssey in popular culture. According to the brothers, Tim Blake Nelson (who has a degree in classics from Brown University) was the only person on the set who had read the Odyssey. Joel Coen revealed that the film was also inspired by The Wizard of Oz (1939). "It started as a 'three saps on the run' kind of movie, and then at a certain point we looked at each other and said, 'You know, they're trying to get home-let's just say this is The Odyssey. We were thinking of it more as The Wizard of Oz. We wanted the tag on the movie to be: 'There's No Place Like Home.'"