One of the reasons Joel and Ethan Coen have been so radically successful as filmmakers for decades is that when you watch their work, you are not only getting films that occupy spaces in several genres, but you are essentially seeing the history of cinema compressed into a singular story, which comes from the directors’ penchant for trying different styles and drawing inspiration from several genres, paying tribute to the films that raised them and inspired them to become filmmakers. In the case of The Hudsucker Proxy, the duo travel back to New York City in the 1950s to make their version of a screwball comedy, telling the story of a company that decides that they need to find a way to dissuade the public from buying stock after a hilariously tragic incident, which leads them to install an eccentric business school graduate as their company president, only to realize that their attempts at failure had a positive outcome. One of the more underpraised works in the directors’ oeuvre, but one that has gradually started to regain a reputation for being far better than initial reaction may have suggested, The Hudsucker Proxy is a fascinating experiment – its upbeat demeanour coupled with a genuinely compelling sense of humour makes it a far more engaging work than we may have initially expected, and we can’t ever predict where it is going, which is one of the tools that the Coen Brothers seem to be most interested in using to take us on this voyage into the past in a madcap, hilarious and irreverent satire that is as generous to the genre as it is scathing to the people who they lampoon throughout this delightfully strange and exceptionally well-constructed comedy that knows exactly how to capture our attention.

Imitation may flatter the original creator, but it doesn’t always make for very good art, which is why the Coen Brothers have always been steadfast in their belief that the only way to pay homage to your inspirations is to take the bare bones of their work and make it your own. Both at the time of its release and in the years since, many have remarked that The Hudsucker Proxy is trying to be a pastiche of the screwball genre, but it supposedly misses the mark, both visually and narratively. However, we have to reconsider that the directors were not seeking to make a film that could feasibly have been plucked from the past, but rather their version of what one of these stories would entail, which is why they have been radically successful in nearly every one of their endeavours (even another attempt at a screwball in the form of Intolerable Cruelty earns credibility based on how it approaches the genre’s more notable quirks) since they don’t have any reason to attempt to redefine the genres that inspired them. This film has its roots firmly in the genre, but it is subsequently filtered through the directors’ unique perspective, which is far more interesting and brings much more meaning to the proceedings. It has its moments where it draws inspiration from the work of filmmakers like Preston Sturges, Howard Hawks (whose My Girl Friday is referenced throughout) and Ernst Lubitsch, using these filmmakers as their spiritual guides rather than attempting to replicate their work. This process allows for a lot more flexibility, since there is never any need to parrot their style verbatim, but rather select the elements that are most useful and inspiring, reconfiguring them into something entirely new and unique, which is how all tributes should be handled, and proof that few filmmakers are capable of crafting memorable homages that feel truly their own like the Coen Brothers, who have made a career from this artistic elasticity.

When it came to casting the happy-go-lucky Norville Barnes, it would be difficult to find a better actor to play the part than Tim Robbins, whose incredible aptitude for playing these slightly dim but always well-meaning characters was one of the many reasons he became such a beloved actor, someone who never quite fit into the mould of a traditional leading man, but rather could take archetypal roles and turn them into memorable excursions into the human condition purely through his unique style. The early 1990s were a watershed moment for Robbins as an artist – on both sides of the camera, he proved to be a formidable force, someone who could helm a production just as well as he could perform, which was quite an achievement, especially in an era where countless actors-turned-directors proved to be better at one more than the other, whereas Robbins succeeded wholeheartedly at both. The Hudsucker Proxy contains a performance that few would consider his very best, but it is certainly one of his most entertaining, and he perfectly matches the charisma and energy of this character, who was fashioned along the lines of a role that someone like James Stewart would play had this film been made a few decades earlier. He’s joined by a tremendous cast – Jennifer Jason Leigh embodies the spirit of Katharine Hepburn, both in terms of mannerisms and persona, and Paul Newman proves to be an unexpectedly captivating villain, proving that he had a darker side capable of playing one of these more sinister characters, which was always a wonderful change of pace for someone as celebrated and iconic as Newman. Bit-parts by the likes of Bruce Campbell, Bill Cobbs and the always reliable Charles Durning only emphasize the brilliance of this film and remind us of the impact a good cast can have when the material gives them something valuable and has the appropriate level of character development.

Some believe that for satire to be effective, it needs to have a clear subject at which it is aiming – and for the most part, this is true. We can’t ever assess the impact without knowing what the intentions are, and that there needs to be at least some sense of clarity in what is being lampooned, even if it isn’t initially shown in the foreground. However, some artists can get away with playfully subverting this expectation by challenging conventions and going in their direction. The people being parodied in The Hudsucker Proxy are not exactly the ones we expect – the film is absolutely a satirical deconstruction of consumerism, focusing on the reckless greed of the wealthy industrialists and their boardrooms littered with sheepish yes-men and sycophantic colleagues that would as quickly bow to your every whim as push you off a ledge – it’s the nature of capitalism and its something that even those early satirists that inspired this film were acknowledging. However, this film is more about looking at a specific way of life, and how it can gradually erode one’s sanity, to the point where all that is left of the American Dream are the broken promises, that loom over in a mocking and sadistic manner. It’s not a dark film, but The Hudsucker Proxy is not afraid to add slightly more unsettling elements – it is almost surreal in some parts, which heightens the tension and often makes it both funnier and more insightful. It may seem inconsequential at first, but there is a complexity to this film in how it is constructed (which is only emphasized by the gorgeous cinematography by Roger Deakins, as well as Carter Burwell’s score, which is one of his personal best – the filmmakers have always known that the key to a good genre film is not only the story and directorial technique, but also the visual and aural components) that keeps us so engaged and invested in its development of certain ideas, making it much more than just a one-dimensional pastiche without any substance, and instead transforms it into a chaotic and brilliant work with an abundance of depth and nuance, which we may not have initially anticipated.

There are some directors who we can confidently say do not make bad films, but rather occasionally create works that are misunderstood at the time, and that eventually audiences will come around and start appreciating these works since it either required time for us to see its brilliance, or simply another generation of viewers altogether for it to become truly appreciated. The fact that the Coen Brothers have made nearly two dozen films, in which every single one of them has fervent supporters (even supposed failures like The Ladykillers) proves that time will always be on their side. It’s not an easy task, and not every filmmaker can receive this level of blind faith – but considering how even a film like The Hudsucker Proxy was seen as a blight on the studio after its release, a critical and commercial failure that was not well-liked by audiences or the industry at the time but has been reconfigured to be seen as a misunderstood masterpiece proves how the tide can change substantially. This is by no means their best work – as previously mentioned, they have dipped into the screwball genre on occasion in future films, whether through forming entire films based around this genre or simple taking elements that were most useful and inspiring. As a whole, it is difficult to not adore this film – it is upbeat, hilarious and has a deeper meaning that we find carries a lot of weight. It is beautifully-made and features some very impressive work in terms of the more technical and creative elements, which all combine to create a spirited and captivating film about social conventions and the consequences of greed, all wrapped together in this wonderfully peculiar and always entertaining satirical delight.