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Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Newman, Charles Durning, John Mahoney ... see more see more... , Jim True , Bruce Campbell , Joe Grifasi , John Seitz , Steve Buscemi , Peter Gallagher , Gary Allen , Roy Brocksmith , Harry Bugin , Bill Cobbs , Lou Criscuolo , Jerome Dempsey , James Deuter , William Duff-Griffin , David Fawcett , I.M. Hobson , Jon Polito , Ernest Sarracino , Dick Sasso , John Scanlan , Richard Schiff , Peter Siragusa , Mike Starr , Mario Todisco , Robert Weil , Noble Willingham , Richard Woods , John Wylie , Nelson George , David Gould , Thom Noble , Sam Raimi , Richard Whiting , Tom Toner , David Byrd , Pat Cranshaw , Mary Lou Rosato , John Lyons , Donna Isaacson , Anna Nicole Smith , Cynthia Baker , Christopher Darga , Ed Lillard , Philip Loch , John Cameron , Jim True-Frost , John Goodman , Patrick Cranshaw

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen concocted this stylish screwball comedic amalgam of Frank Capra and Howard Hawks. Tim Robbins stars as Norville Barnes, a dull-wit from Muncie, Indiana who wrangles a job with... read more read more... the big Hudsucker Industries. He has a singular idea for a new children's toy that he wants to present to corporate executive Sidney J. Mussberger (Paul Newman). As he makes his way up to Mussberger's office, the company president Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning) is on his way down -- through the window of the forty-fourth floor boardroom! Hudsucker's death sets off a panic that Mussberger sees as an opportunity for taking over the company -- by installing a total incompetent in Hudsucker's place and devaluing the stock. When Barnes stumbles into Mussberger's office, Mussberger sees his pigeon and appoints Barnes as the new company president. The only problem is that the new product Barnes proposes for the company, the Hula Hoop, turns out to be a tremendous success, and Mussberger has difficulty manipulating his new corporate president. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

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79% liked it

40,910 ratings

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56% liked it

39 critics

PG, 1 hr. 55 min.

Directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Anna Nicole Smith, Charles Durning, Jennifer Jason Leigh, John Mahoney, Paul Newman, Tim Robbins

Release Date: January 1, 1994

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DVD Release Date: May 18, 1999

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Flixster Reviews (2,373)

  • paulkoh110
    January 16, 2012
    paulkoh110
    Its a kid's coen brothers movie. Entertaining from beginning to the end with Tim Robbins playing a great role along with Paul Newman. Its not daring or bold, but its stylish and fun.
  • blkbomb
    December 9, 2011
    blkbomb
    Norville: It's fun, it's healthy, it's good exercise. The kids will just love it. and we put a little sand inside to make the experience more pleasant. 

    "At Hudsucker's industry there's a fast way to the top... and an even faster way down!"

    The Hudsucker Proxy is one of the bes... read moret screwball comedies you could ever wish to see. It's a movie that is so stupid, it's brilliant. The creative minds of Joel and Ethan Coen bring some of there dark themes to an overall light and hilarious film. The movie isn't Fargo or Barton Fink, but it isn't supposed to be. It's closest to Raising Arizona, when you look at there filmography, but it is even better. I am not ashamed to say that The Hudsucker Proxy is one of my favorite Coen films.

    Norville arrives in New York and takes a job as a basement mailman at Hudsucker Industries. As he is going in, the president of the company is jumping out. The company high ups now decide to make an imbecile the new president so that stock prices will plummet allowing them to buy them all at an extremely low price. So they hire Norville. Norville brings an overstated stupidity to the movie, along with an amazing idea for the company; mainly in a circle on a piece of paper. "You know... for the kids." 

    What I love most about The Hudsucker Proxy is what I love most about every Coen brothers film and that would be all the bizarre, random stuff that happens. This random stuff always seems like it isn't really progressing the story, but it always is. This film is as clear an indicator of the Coen style as any film they have ever made. It has all the bizarre characters like the elevator man Buzz and the fast talking journalist. It has dark themes like suicide covered up by all it's dumb humor. It has an all knowing narrator who works the Hudsucker clock. It is all brilliant and under-appreciated. 

    The Hudsucker Proxy is easily the Coen's most underrated film they have made. Most of their movies are adored by critics and the public alike, but somehow this one was not as well received. It's completely impossible for me to understand how someone can adore the Coen's and not love this movie. This movie is pure Joel and Ethan all the way. 

    Moses the Clock Man: And that's the story of how Norville Barnes climbed waaay up to the forty-fourth floor of the Hudsucker Buildling, and then fell all the way down but didn't quite squish hisself. You know, they say there was a man who jumped from the forty-FIFTH floor? But that's another story... 
  • garyX
    February 23, 2011
    garyX
    The self made head of a successful corporation commits suicide and its scheming board installs a naive young mail boy as a replacement to crash the stock price and buy it up at a bargain price. An appealing homage to screwball comedies of the 1940s, The Hudsucker Proxy is an earl... read morey film from the Coen brothers and bears their hallmark combination of oddball characters and attractive imagery. Jennifer Jason Leigh bulldozes her way through her scenes impersonating Katherine Hepburn impersonating Lois Lane and Tim Robbins makes a likeable enough boob, but the real show stealer is Paul Newman's corporate shark who was clearly an influence on J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spiderman films and he electrifies the screen every time he appears. Unfortunately, plot is a little thin on the ground and its a little difficult to care about the skullduggery of corporate life but it definitely has a lot of offbeat charm and a few genuinely laugh out loud moments. One of the Coen's minor works, but still well worth the time.
  • ythelastman89
    June 12, 2010
    ythelastman89
    While I certainly believe it is one of the most idiotic movies ever made, it also happens to be extremely well done and hilarious. The jokes and gags are so overplayed that it becomes funny in another sort of way. Likewise, the performances are so completely offbeat and downright... read more crazy that it sort've becomes brilliant. Paul Newman was a great touch and for me was the best element in the entire movie. Now saying all that, I don't think I could see myself re-watching it all that much because it's a lot to swallow and manage a lot of the time. It's sort of a blessing and a curse at the same time. However, this should be seen if nothing else for the great directing from Joel Coen.
  • SirPant
    September 3, 2009
    SirPant
    An underrated Coen Brothers film, for me its definitely one of their funniest, assessable and stylish works. The performances are brilliant as our the over the top sets. It's one of their only 'family friendly' films, for adults and, you know, for kids! ;o)
  • gor41
    June 2, 2009
    gor41
    Considered a lesser Coen effort, I personally love this surreal fantastical fable on capitalism. The sets are beautifully designed and it feels like a kinder 'Brazil'.
  • harrycaul
    January 6, 2009
    harrycaul
    The Coen Brothers' tribute to '30s screwball comedies and '50s consumer faddism. When the president of Hudsucker Industries jumps off the 44th floor, the board of directors seeks to appoint an 'imbecile' as his replacement. The intention: to devalue their dearly departed founder'... read mores soon-to-be floated stock and snap it up themselves, for peanuts. Tim Robbins' ambitious innocent appears to fit the bill perfectly, but the board's plan goes awry when its puppet president's vanity project, the 'Hula Hoop', becomes a runaway success.

    Jennifer Jason Leigh's hard-boiled newshound and Robbins' good-natured patsy with a penchant for jumping off buildings immediately bring to mind Capra's Meet John Doe, but I found myself fondly recalling a host of other comedies along the way; everything from His Girl Friday to The Producers. Charles Durning's reappearance as a ukulele playing angel just about cancelled out my misgivings about the movie tipping over into outright fantasy toward the end. Not a great critical favourite, I actually prefer The Hudsucker Proxy to some of the Coens' acknowledged masterworks, perhaps because, besides all the trademark wordplay and boundless invention, this one's almost got a heart... almost!
  • cosmo313
    November 2, 2008
    cosmo313
    This is a flawed film (due to lack of sympathy for characters, style over substance, etc), which is why I'm giving it the rating I am (instead of the one I should), but still, even then, this is a great throwback to the old school screwball comedies of the 30' and 40's, and a hil... read morearious satire of big business, so that's why I'm recommending it. It might be light on substance, but visually it's amazing, and it's one of the most underrated Coen Brothers films to date.
  • DrZeek
    October 12, 2008
    DrZeek
    Norville: You know...for kids.

    From the Coen brothers, who developed this story with their friend Sam Raimi, this is a 50s screwball comedy featuring fantastic production values, despite having a story that is less interesting than the look of the film.

    Tim Robbins stars as No... read morerville Barnes, a recently graduated college boy who has just come to New York from his rural hometown and wants to become a success with an idea that he carries around in his shoe.

    The same day he gets a new job at Hudsucker Industries, the founder/president of the company, Mr. Hudsucker, played by Charles Durning, has jumped off the 44th floor of the building, leaving the board members concerned with their stock.

    Hudsucker's former right-hand man, Sydney J. Mussburger, played by Paul Newman, decides the best idea is to hire a patsy as the new president in order to avoid a complicated stock problem. Guess who they hire?

    Problems arise however, when Norville's idea actually takes off and the business remains very successful.

    [Norville Barnes introduces the "extruded plastic dingus" to the board members]
    Board Member 1: What if you tire before it's done?
    Board Member 2: Does it have rules?
    Board Member 3: Can more than one play?
    Board Member 4: What makes you think it's a game?
    Board Member 3: Is it a game?
    Board Member 5: Will it break?
    Board Member 6: It better break eventually!
    Board Member 2: Is there an object?
    Board Member 1: What if you tire before it's done?

    While Norville tries to do his best as president, he must also deal with his secretary Amy Archer, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, who is actually a news reporter in secret as well as Mussburger looking to do what is best for the company and himself.

    As mentioned, it is not the story that is the highlight, this is style over substance. That being said the cast is just right. Robbins is very likable. Leigh is fitting by channeling female screwball comedy leads. And Newman is always pretty cool. The film also has several Coen regulars in cameos, as well as a part for Raimi's partner in crime Bruce Campbell.

    As also mentioned, the movie looks absolutely wonderful. Elaborate sets and sharp costumes make a wonderful 50s world that is helped out by the mix of fast-paced and Coen style dialog.

    A bit hollow in its story, but still an entertaining watch.

    Amy Archer: I used to think you were a swell guy. Well, to be honest, I thought you were an imbecile. But then I figured out you WERE a swell guy... A little slow, maybe, but a swell guy. Well, maybe you're not so slow, But you're not so swell either. And it looks like you're an imbecile after all!"
  • fernandorafael
    May 2, 2008
    fernandorafael
    Visually enchanting, terrific art direction and photography. The writing and directing are great. Tim Robbins and Paul Newman give very good performances. Jennifer Jason Leigh's was too over the top.

View All The Hudsucker Proxy Reviews

Critic Reviews

Duane Byrge
November 6, 2007
Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter

A visually arresting but emotionally uninvolving dark comedy.

Jonathan Rosenbaum
November 6, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

A jeering, dreamlike comedy with nothing much on its mind except how neat the Coen brothers are and how stupid or contemptible everybody else is, including everyone in the audience. Full Review

Todd McCarthy
November 6, 2007
Todd McCarthy, Variety

Nearly everything in the Coen brothers' latest and biggest film seems like a wizardly but artificial synthesis, leaving a hole in the middle where some emotion and humanity should be. Full Review

Caryn James
May 20, 2003
Caryn James, New York Times

Movies are, after all, about fakery; so is the story of Norville's rise and fall and redemption. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

A wickedly funny and incisive lampoon of big business. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Not even the slightest attempt is made to suggest that the film takes its own story seriously. Everything is style. The performances seem deliberately angled as satire. Full Review

Joe Brown
January 1, 2000
Joe Brown, Washington Post

Clever but cold, a heartless mechanical gizmo. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

If something brilliant is happening in The Hudsucker Proxy -- and you're meant to believe that it is -- it's apparent only to Ethan and Joel Coen. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
August 4, 2010
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

A pastiche of a movie that lacks distinct identity and authenticity, made up of borrowed parts from scrwball comedies Frank Capra, Howard Hawks, and Preston Sturges. Full Review

November 6, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An impressive technical achievement--the period New York sets are to die for -- and its version of the invention of the hula-hoop is a comic highlight. Full Review

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    • Norville Barnes: You know...for kids.
    • Chief: Yeah, and if a frog had wings, it wouldn't bump it's ass a-hoppin'.
    • Board Member: Waring Hudsucker was never an easy man to figure out. He built this company with his bare hands, every step he took was a step up, except of course this last one.
    • Amy Archer: I used to think you were a swell guy. Well, to be honest, I thought you were an imbecile. But then I figured out you WERE a swell guy... A little slow, maybe, but a swell guy. Well, maybe you're not so slow, But you're not so swell either. And it looks like you're an imbecile after all!
    • Amy Archer: Norville Barnes, you don't know a thing about that woman. You don't know who she really is. Only a numbskull thinks he knows things about things he knows nothing about.
Submit a Fact | View All

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The Hudsucker Proxy Trivia

  • Who wrote and directed The Hudsucker Proxy, Blood Simple and Barton Fink?  Answer »
  • Which actor links the movies "Absence of Malice", "Hud", "Road to Perdition", "The Hudsucker Proxy", "Somebody Up There Likes Me" and "The Hustler"?  Answer »
  • Which of the following movies did not star both Paul Newman and Robert Redford?  Answer »
  • Which of the following movies was Micheal Keaton NOT in: Beetlejuice, Pacific Heights, or The Hudsucker Proxy?   Answer »
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