I watched The Hudsucker Proxy last night and was struck by what makes the Coen Brothers' period films so unique. They make old timey films like time travelers who have beamed back to a studio backlot with all the knowledge a contemporary filmmaker. As a consequence, they enter these old films like spies from the future accenting all the quirky Hollywoodisms that their characters take for granted and play straight. This film is chock full of entertainment but it's almost as if they couldn't contain themselves and they can't help stuffing the story and the frame with every quirk and cliche from the last half-decade of the movies. You can almost see them chortling behind the camera or the keyboard as they composed this mini-masterpiece. For my money, Barton Fink hits the same period-era bullseyes but the story and characters are more fully fleshed out in the modern style, making it equal parts kitsch and compelling. But this film, when it's great, jumps off the screen