Blank Check with Griffin & David: “Intolerable Cruelty” (2003) – In-Depth Episode Summary

Podcast: Blank Check with Griffin & David
Episode: Intolerable Cruelty with Katey Rich
Date: September 14, 2025
Guest: Katey Rich

Overview: Main Theme & Purpose

This episode delves into the Coen brothers’ 2003 screwball romantic comedy Intolerable Cruelty, as part of Blank Check’s ongoing auteur filmography review. Griffin Newman, David Sims, and guest Katey Rich revisit the film’s reputation, its place within the Coens’ “pastiche” phase, and how its stars—especially George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones—fit into both the movie and their own career arcs. The trio sets out to reclaim the film’s reputation, challenge its “weak entry” status among Coen fans, and celebrate its craft, performances, and screwball lineage.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Coen Brothers’ Tonal Experiment & Audience Reception

• Impersonable Movie Stars & the Clooney Factor

  • Clooney is described as difficult to impersonate, which prompts a discussion about what makes a great (and mimic-able) movie star. The Coens get Clooney at his most stylized and physical (“The Cohens get him working his neck unlike anyone else”—Griffin [01:13]).
  • The episode revisits the “Idiot trilogy” (now four films): O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Intolerable Cruelty, Burn After Reading, and Hail, Caesar!

• Catherine Zeta-Jones’ Post-Oscar Arc

  • Her meteoric rise (from The Mask of Zorro and Chicago to an Oscar in 2002), then the immediate reversal—three big films with huge directors, then a rapid fade from the A-list.
  • Discussion of Hollywood’s double standards and the pressures facing actresses post-Oscar:

    “It was a take her Oscar away run.” —Griffin ([03:32])
    “None of them are her fault…the reason they did not work.” —Katie ([22:24])

  • Recognition that her roles in Coen, Soderbergh, and Spielberg films weren’t badly chosen, just poorly received at the time.

• The “Blank Check” Context and Fan Reception

  • Intolerable Cruelty has long been seen as “one of the bad Coens,” ignored by fans and barely defended, despite having its admirers.
  • Griffin and David want to start its “reclamation project”:

    “Even the most ardent Coen supporters…I saw that when it came out in theaters. It’s bad, right? And have never rewatched it… more than Ladykillers.” —Griffin ([11:18])

  • Ladykillers is referenced as the frequent “worst Coen” and a point of comparison.

Screwball Pastiche, Modern Setting & Aesthetic Disjunction

• Intolerable Cruelty’s identity crisis:

  • It’s discussed as possibly the most pastiche-heavy Coens, yet set in a stylized modern world rather than period, which threw audiences.

  “If this movie had been set in an arch ‘40s… it would have found its champions faster.” —Griffin ([26:10])
  “This movie is incredibly cohesive and, like, of a piece. But I remember…everyone around me told me it was bad.” —Griffin ([25:34])

• Genre comparisons:

  • Parallels with Down With Love (which was almost instantly reclaimed as a camp/classic but bombed on release) and screwball classics like Preston Sturges and Lubitsch.
  • The screenplay’s structure is said to evoke Sturges, particularly The Lady Eve—the screwball foils, fast-talking dialogue, and conversational tennis.

Development Hell: The Script’s Long & Winding Road

• The film’s journey—from hot Hollywood script, through many studios, drafts, and directors (Ron Howard, Joe Dante, Andrew Bergman, Jonathan Demme), until the Coens return as directors-for-hire.

• Clooney himself championed making the Coen draft; he got on board after “To the White Sea” fell apart:

  “Clooney’s response… ‘Can I read the Coen’s draft?’… and he’s like, ‘I would do this.’” —Griffin ([41:56])

• Budget clarity—possible reason for high costs: lengthy development, big stars, high overhead (“Everyone just got paid a lot.” —Katie [124:35])

Major Performances & Character Analysis

• Clooney’s Screwball Energy as Miles Massey

  • Overachieving divorce attorney obsessed with perfecting his image (literally bleaching his teeth for power).
  • Griffin calls out the “Clark Gable construction,” showing how the role breaks down the movie star persona and myth-making.
  • The role epitomizes the stylized “rat-a-tat” delivery and the sort of cypher-like lead screwball requires.

• Catherine Zeta-Jones’ Sphinx-like Gold Digger, Marilyn Rexroth

  • Debate over whether Zeta-Jones is the right fit, or whether the role is intentionally opaque (“the sphinx”).
  • Discussion of who else could have played it (Julia Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Julianne Moore)—but all agree the role is written as deeply enigmatic for plot purposes.

• Richard Jenkins & Supporting Cast

  • Jenkins’ role and “croissant”/“massey prenup” scenes are highlighted as comic jewels.
  • Paul Adelstein, Cedric the Entertainer (“Gus Petch, nailing asses”), Billy Bob Thornton (as the Texan Doyle), and the recurring theme of Coens using everyone from the top to the bottom of the Hollywood character actor pile.
  • Jeffrey Rush’s opening scene as the Emmy-winning, unfaithful TV producer is divisive—seen as off-putting but also essential as a prologue to set the tone.

The Coen Brothers’ Methods and Thematic Preoccupations

• Their tendency to focus on systems—here, the “marriage industrial complex,” cynical prenups, and the transactional side of romance.
• The mix of arch, almost slapstick-y humor with moments of shocking violence (cf. Wheezy Joe’s demise).
• Use of classic Hollywood conventions (opening credit sequence, jazzy Carter Burwell score, sharply-drawn bit part players).

Meta-Commentary, Hollywood, and Star Careers

• Lengthy consideration is given to George Clooney’s career:
  • The “movie star” period: from Out of Sight and O Brother through Ocean’s, followed by the “serious” actor/producer era (Good Night and Good Luck, Michael Clayton, etc.).
  • Later career attempts to reclaim movie stardom (Money Monster, Tomorrowland, Wolfs), the “Casamigos” fortune, and his string of directorial misfires—often serving as a case study of creative freedom gone unchallenged.
• Zeta-Jones’ repeated vanishing acts, attempted comebacks, and the lack of a “true” post-Oscar comeback run.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Coens’ Pastiche Style

  “This is Preston Sturges. This is the most Sturges of any of their films. How did people not get this … seven act structure, like scenes built around dialogue and like seven internal games within a five person conversation.” —Griffin ([26:48])

• On Catherine Zeta-Jones’ Career

  “She’s married to Michael Douglas and I got kids. I’m gonna just—peace.” —Katie ([03:17])
  “There’s the post Oscar run… then the 2013 sort of attempted comeback. She has not been in a feature film since then … just TV.” —Griffin ([07:49])

• On Audience Reception

  “We tried to find anyone who wanted to come on and defend this movie. … I couldn’t find anyone who was like, yes, Intolerable Cruelty, I want to defend.” —David ([12:18])

• On Modern vs. Period Setting

  “For filmmakers who are so good at pastiche, this is one of their most pastiche movies, and yet it is committed to being dressed like a modern film and featuring modern things.” —Griffin ([24:10])

• On Gender and Screwball Archetypes

  “The character is kind of a sphinx… you need to untangle it after the fact. Only at the end do you realize everything she’s done.” —Griffin ([91:12])
  “Is Julia Roberts the obvious version?” —David ([43:02])

• On Cynicism and the Movie’s Underlying Darkness

  “The Coens are latching onto an honest cynicism … marriage has morphed from being this property merger thing to ostensibly being about love… but really, the big concern is always the money.” —Griffin ([104:08])

• On the Jenkins-Clooney “Pastry” Scene

  “A three minute symphony of dialogue… two shots reversed around a table, just on fire. Swiss watch timing and overlapping threads.” —Griffin ([83:17])

• On Koch Brothers and the Law

  “Poetry recitation. Objection. You’re on a strangling witness. I’m going to allow it.” —David ([77:16])

Timestamps: Important Segments

• Clooney Discussed as "Idiot Trilogy" Coen Collaborator: 01:21–01:49
• Career Arc & Post-Oscar Narrative for Zeta-Jones: 02:19–08:05
• Hollywood’s Bafflement (and Admiration) for Her First Projects: 21:48–22:23
• Blank Check Concept & Reputation of ‘Intolerable Cruelty’ With Fans: 11:18–14:46, 25:34–26:10
• Origin and Development Hell of the Script: 32:04–36:17
• The Coen Brothers Boarding as Directors; Clooney’s Involvement: 41:47–43:04
• Casting Marilyn Rexroth: Who Else Could Have Played Her?: 91:45–96:08
• Structure and Pastiche Explanation: 98:22–99:36
• Scene Discussion: Jenkins/Clooney "Croissant" Confrontation: 83:20–84:07
• Debate: Is It Too Acidic? Why Don’t People “Love” This Movie?: 127:35–129:37
• Box Office & Release Context: 131:00–134:22
• Final Summations, Guest’s Plugs, and Podcast Housekeeping: 142:11–end

In the Spirit of the Show: Tone and Favorite Running Bits

• The hosts riff and joke in a fast, improv-like mode, littering the summary with callbacks, pop culture references (from SNL to Preston Sturges to Joe Dante films), and recurring Blank Check in-jokes.
• Charming asides:
  • Griffin and Katey’s familial connection through her son’s love of Avatar.
  • The long-running “Box Office Game” (interspersed, highlights at [131:00–136:00]).
  • Ben’s delight in finding “merch” for each obscure film, this time a wrinkled Gus Petch shirt ([139:27]).
  • “Porch Movie” and “Blank Checkty” terminology cameos.
  • Audio ads and irreverent commercial breaks are present but omitted here.

Conclusion: Why the Film Deserves Another Look

The hosts make a passionate argument in favor of Intolerable Cruelty—not as a misunderstood masterpiece, but as an underappreciated, expertly crafted, arch screwball that never got the respect it deserved in the Coen canon. They urge listeners to rewatch it with a fresh perspective on its tone, structure, and style, especially in the context of classic screwball traditions and Hollywood’s strange career cycles.

Final Words:

“You could rank ‘Intolerable Cruelty’ as their second worst and I wouldn’t even argue with that—because you’re only putting masterpieces ahead of it.” —Griffin (144:48)