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# Leading lady kills in Coen flick
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/leading-lady-kills-in-coen-flick/
- Published: 2004-03-26T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:04:15.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

Some critics have panned this remake simply for not measuring up to the 1955 version, which starred Sir Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers, and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick. With all due respect to that terrific triumvirate — all of whom have moved on to the big Red Carpet in the sky — I don’t remember the original film, and I’m going to assume a great many of you don’t either. It’s been 50 years — surely the statute of limitations has run out. So let’s judge “The Ladykillers” of this 21st Century on its own merits, shall we? Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, this oft-inspired romp boasts a stellar cast, some wickedly funny moments and an ending that is sheer slapstick fun. Tom Hanks reminds us that he can do comedy with the best of them, and Irma P. Hall matches her Academy Award-winning costar yuk for gut-straining yuk.

Goldthwait Higginson Dorr, Ph.D. (Hanks) is a professorial conman who never encountered a subject upon which he could not perorate. After sweet-talking a lonely church-going old widow named Mrs. Munson (Hall) into letting him a room, this crooked man of letters enlists a group of criminally-inclined oddballs to pose as musicians and help him pull off a heist. The plan is to tunnel from Mrs. Munson’s root cellar — where the thieves pretend to be practicing classical music — to the vault of a nearby casino. Problem is, Dorr’s team is completely dysfunctional. The “inside guy” Gawain (a spot-on Marlon Wayans) is a slacker nonpareil with a hot-temper, foul mouth and a love for “the hippity-hop music,” as Mrs. Munson disdainfully calls it. From the get-go, Gawain and the explosives expert Garth Pancake (J.K. Simmons of “Oz”) are at each other’s throats, and the ongoing tension between them inspires some high comedy. Less interesting are the remaining two members of the cabal, Tzi Ma as the laconic General, and a brainless oaf named Lump (Ryan Hurst). The real star here is Hall, who energizes the hilarious opening sequence and never stops bringing the laughter. She’s good enough, even, to overshadow what is Hanks’ funniest performance since 1992’s “A League of Their Own.” In “The Ladykillers” the leading lady kills. (Rated R for language including sexual references. Running time: 104 minutes)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/032604-20_01.jpg)

(Photo: BY THOMAS YOUNG & MAUREEN TOBIN Special to the Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 26, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/032604.pdf?ref=smdp.com)