Who doesn't love musical theater? Only
mean people, I'm guessing. Thus, in
order to prove that you're not a mean
person you should rush out and see O
Brother Where Art Thou?, the first great
musical of the 21st century. O Brother
retells the story of Homer's Odyssey,
only
from the perspective of two guys who
have never read the book. George
Clooney stars as Ulysses Everett McGill
(see, he's Ulysses), an escaped convict
who travels across Depression-era
Mississippi to get home to his wife Penny
(get it?) who's being wooed by a suitor
(see, like in The Odyssey). When the
Coens aren't referencing The Odyssey
they're exploring the culture of the old
South or alluding to such classic films as
Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels.
Actually, they're usually doing all three at
once, which makes the fact that they can
do it in the midst of a musical number all
the more amazing. And what's even more
amazing is that most of the people who've
seen O Brother don't even realize that
they've seen a musical. Which is good,
because, as I've found out, most people
claim to hate musicals. Because most
people are mean. Q.E.D.