The Coen Bros. may be big-time Oscar winners now, but the irreverent filmmaking duo is never too important to be silly. They plan on proving it this fall with Burn After Reading, which will be an unusual follow-up to a Best Picture winner—a comedy about two idiots on the run from the law. It’s a storyline they’ve told well before, in Raising Arizona and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and they seem almost guaranteed to strike gold again with this one.
The trailer for Burn After Reading is up online now, and it looks to be just as funny as we hoped it would be. It’s a red-band trailer, so avert your eyes, children, but the worst word I heard on the first go-round was “shit,” so don’t worry too much. Basically Brad Pitt plays a gym employee who finds a CD that’s full of CIA secrets. Instead of doing remotely the right thing, he and his wife (Frances McDormand) decide to blackmail the owner (John Malkovich)and the government themselves. Somewhere, George Clooney and Tilda Swinton get involved.
Check it out below, or see the official, full-quality version at Apple.com. With all the big, broad comedies of the summer about to come out, it’s nice to have something a little different to look forward to this fall.
