MovieChat Forums > Burn After Reading (2008) Discussion > How Stupid Do the Coens Think We Are?

How Stupid Do the Coens Think We Are?

posted 12 years ago by giarmomatthew
47 replies | jump to latest

Let us count the plot holes in the film. I haven't seen plot holes this big since the premise of the film Double Jeopardy:

1. no one calls the local police

Osborne Cox in real life would have availed himself of the rather quick and easy way to put an end to that sociopathic Linda's stalking. There were witnesses to her hit-and-run on his diesel Benz. He also could have phoned in the extortion attempt and what he believed to be a break-in.

2. CIA would never pay Linda off in end

There was nothing for the CIA to cover up. The CIA director admitted not knowing what the CIA did wrong, so why would he pay this woman for her silence?

3. Linda would be tried for treason and either imprisoned for life or executed.

As far as Linda knew, she possessed classified government material and attempted to sell it to a foreign power. As far as the CIA knew, there may have been level 3 clearance data on that disc. So why did no one pursue her arrest and Federal prosecution?

4. Osborne Cox could have fought Katie's maneuver to take control of joint bank accounts. In fact, banks require two signatures on both accounts before they could be completely emptied and closed. Oops!

5. No dating web sites are set up to allow women to surf male photos without males being granted the same opportunity. No man would agree to join such a site. They would insist on being able to see the women they were considering dating. BeWithMeDC.com is absurd. Why the Coens felt they needed to stipulate this is beyond me.

6. How did Harry Pfarer clean up the mess in Katie's bedroom without her knowing someone was shot in her closet?

7. While there are men stupid enough to bring a concealed weapon to a first date, I don't know of many women who would let a gun-toting stranger into their home.

8. Do the Coens expect us to believe people as stupid as Linda and Chad really exist? These are not "morons," but morons. Linda is astounded her HMO will not pay for not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 cosmetic surgical procedures. She is also astounded her employer will not advance her salary. She also is under the impression Cox is obligated by some Good Samaritan Tax to offer her thousands of dollars in reward money for finding his disc. When he doesn't agree, she gets violent with him.

9. The disc itself is worthless. It's the info on the disc that WOULD be worth anything.

Why do Linda and Chad assume that even if the info were valuable that Cox would pay for the disc. It's not the disc that's valuable, it's the information on it. And he has it on his PC.

Some of the critics who reviewed the film praised the Coens attention to detail and realism. I agree I enjoyed the scenes where Cox was terminated and where Katie conspired with her attorney, but no one in their right mind could ignore the gaping plot holes above.

The Coens acknowledged writing this script at the same time they wrote the script for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. And the lack of focus / discipline showed.

[–] Elemenoh 11 years ago

Glad I'm not the only one to read your post and conclude that you not only need to get out more, but that you could also use a leg-up tutoring session in basic language comprehension.

[–] jorgemtrevino 11 years ago

Don't fret over the thread starter... I know a lady who though that Fargo was a tragedy! She even cried!!! (Honest to G., and she's not my wife! <vbg>).

I cried also over Burn After Reading and Fargo, but asphixiating with laughter. Best black humor ever. Until tonight I used to thing Fargo was the swan song of the Cohens, but this one beats it hands down. I'm glad I missed it when it showed in the theaters --people would have thought me crazy!

Of course there are some folks now and then who cannot figure comedy as an art genere. It requires, you know, a modicum of inteligence and education. ;-)

[–] aphexxx 11 years ago

Have you watched any other Coen Bros films? I suggest you educate your self ..at least a little.

[–] kmorrison1 11 years ago

The OP sure is over thinking it. Its a comedy for gods sake. Did you expect realism from Caddyshack?

[–] LostTravels 11 years ago

I never understood why people pick apart an original movie. I can see someone being fed up with a remake, I've been guilty of that. I've just never understood why someone tries to rape an original movie based on something as little as plot holes. You know it's just a movie, yet you make it out to be something more than it is. It's a movie basically about nothing and you're having a panic attack, Law.

[–] schweinrich 11 years ago

Well, read most of the posts now. But nobody seems to mention this. There is no classified information on the disc. As far as I recall, it´s the book he is trying to write. Which apparently is dribble, I think is the word used at the russian embassy. Also, I do not think that the plot is that far fetched at all. It might be satirical, but the way it exposes reality and people with all their flaws is in my opinion what makes it so funny.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] tolarrattler-imdb 11 years ago

Ok dokey, you seem to have some issues here.

1. Cox was a big time jerk who had severe control issues. He would not call the police because he felt he could take care of all of this himself. In fact, him not calling the police goes to show how little respect he had for these two. Besides, he was emotionally messed up at the time. Alcoholic, lost his job, marriage on the ropes and that marriage is one where he is not in control like he feels he should be. I have heard of people being shot and not calling the police because they were going to take care of it themselves.

2. The CIA had no idea what happened. Had no idea why it happened. Had no interest in getting involved in it. Basically, that director threw up his hands and said "whatever". For a small price this lady agrees to not tell anyone about this mess. He sees it as the easy way out. Does not involve the press or letting any of this stink out of the bag. I guess you could say they could just make her disappear but I think that they felt she was not worth that much effort.

3. Name the last spy caught in the U.S. to be executed for treason. I think you have to go back to the Rosenbergs in the 50's. Besides, arresting and trying her would be letting the stink out of the bag. That would be public. It would be embarrassing to the CIA. Better to leave her alone with a little bit of money especially since she never sold any secrets.

4. I have had friends whose spouses emptied bank accounts on them before. Why do you think that this cannot happen in a movie?

5. A one way blind dating site. Not unimaginable. There are people who would be willing to sign up for it. Something like this is designed to give the women more control and many women would be willing to sign up for that. A site that has more women has the potential to attract more men.

6. How did he clean up the mess? With a sponge and a bucket. May have had to throw some of her clothes away and figure he would eventually deal with that later. Maybe try to blame missing clothes on Oswald.

7. He was authorized to carry a weapon. Police officers do this all the time, even on first dates. In fact, many times the women are impressed by it.

8. Yes. There are people that stupid out there. There are people who believe that an insurance company is required to pay anything. There are people out there who want their employer to give them gigantic advances. There are people out there who think that writing "PAID IN FULL" on a check will erase an entire debt. There are people out there who think that if the police forget to say the Miranda warning or say any part of it wrong (even though there is no defined script for it) that anything they are arrested for will be dropped. There are people out there who believe that finding a roach in their Big Mac will result in a multi-million dollar lawsuit. There are people out there who believe that finding a bag of money on the side of the road means it is automatically theirs. There are people who believe in all kinds of crazy things.

9. The value of the disk is that they have it. That means someone else has the data. Of course the data was worthless but these two did not know that. They were banking on Oswald wanting to make sure the data was kept secret. Of course they could have made copies but they did not think that thru. They thought that Oswald would be desperate to keep the data secret and thus be willing to pay big bucks to get the disk back.

In the end, you make no compelling reasons to think that the Coen Brothers thought the viewers were idiots. Sure, some people in the movie made decisions you may not have but guess what, there are billions of people on the planet who will make different decisions than you. Stopped being shocked that a film presented two of them.

[–] Don_Cheech 10 years ago

I always thought the Coens did a good job of realism, in all of their films. Crazy stuff happens in this world that you wouldnt BELIEVE that involve tons of bad decisions and unintentional mistakes.And are you really saying you have been on EVERY dating site? I mean good for you dude, but i doubt it. There are tons of web services out there that you WOULDNT BELIEVE people actually use. People are weird man. Weirder, more unrealistic things have happened in real life. you can count on it.