You Know, For Kids!
A 1994 retro-screwball comedy directed by
The Coen Brothers, from a story devised by them and
Sam Raimi. A box office and critical flop when it was released, but has been somewhat
Vindicated by History.
Norville Barnes (
Tim Robbins), a recently graduated business major, makes his way from his hometown of Muncie, Indiana, to New York City to "make it big." He winds up working in the mailroom of the monolithic Hudsucker Industries, whose CEO, Waring Hudsucker (
Charles Durning), has recently committed suicide. On the day he is hired, Norville is given the task of delivering an important letter from Hudsucker to Sidney Mussburger (
Paul Newman), the second-in-command at Hudsucker Industries.
Meanwhile, Mussburger is upstairs trying to calm the board of directors. Apparently, Hudsucker had no will, which means according to company policy his majority stock share in the company must be put up for sale on the open market within six month's time. This means the company would be open to hostile takeover by whomever can buy the expensive shares. Mussburger hits upon the idea of appointing an idiot as a secret "proxy,"
someone who can be easily controlled and cause the company's profitability to tank without doing any lasting damage. This way, with stock prices depressed because of poor profitability, Mussburger and the other members of the board can buy up the shares on the cheap quickly when they go up for sale, and maintain control.
Soon enough, Norville appears at Mussburger's door, with the letter, but Barnes is so eager to mention his ideas for the company that he never does deliver the letter, and ends up nearly killing Mussburger during their first meeting. Mussburger comes away convinced he's an idiot...but just the right kind of idiot for his needs, and so Barnes is quickly made the new CEO of Hudsucker Industries, with Mussburger's secret plan in action, and Barnes has an idea for a new toy -
you know, for kids.
- Accidental Pun: "I wasn't expecting all this hoopla."
- Almighty Janitor: involves a brawl between two of them, either one capable of freezing time for the rest of the universe.
- Anachronism Stew: The film is supposed to be set in 1958, but except for the beatnik and the hula hoop, everything seems more 1930s-ish.
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: Hudsucker's death, for quite a few people. He had just jumped when Mussburger (his Vice-President) took the cigar he had left behind and started to smoking it, procaiming it would be a shame to "waste a Montecristo".
- Beatnik: Norville stumbles drunk into a Beatnik juice and coffee bar on New Year's Eve.
- Becoming the Mask: Amy Archer goes undercover at Hudsucker as a country-girl secretary to expose Norville as an imbecile. She ends up falling in love with him instead.
- Big Applesauce
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Moses addresses the camera directly a few times.
Moses: Strictly speaking, I'm never supposed to do this. But have you got a better idea?
- Catch Phrase: "You know, for kids!"
- Chekhov's Gun: The blue letter.
- Clock Tower
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Sidney J. Mussburger (and to a lesser extent the rest of the board of directors)
- Da Editor
- Divine Race Lift: It's implied that the clock tower worker may be God.
- Deus ex Machina: Oh, so very much. After over an hour of film about business practices, Norville's attempt to kill himself is stopped when an Almighty Janitor stops a clock, thus STOPPING TIME, and giving Norville time to talk to the (deceased) ex-CEO.
- Dream Sequence: A hot one, too.
- Extra! Extra! Read All About It!: "The Man from Muncie: a Moron after all! Read all about it!"
- Football Fight Song
Fight on, fight on Dear Old Muncie
Fight on, hoist the gold and blue
You'll be tattered, torn, and hurten
Once the Munce is through with you
Goooooooooo Eagles!
- Genre Savvy: The two flatulent cabbies who narrate the entirety of Amy Archer's play to win her way into Norville Barnes' graces.
Both: Lumbago.
Lou: That gag's so old it's got whiskers on it!
- Holy Halo: Lampshaded by the late Mr. Hudsucker calling it a "fad" with the "boys upstairs."
- Hot Scoop: Amy Archer
- How We Got Here
- Intrepid Reporter: Amy Archer, naturally.
- It Will Never Catch On: Hula Hoops
- Laser-Guided Karma: Sidney J. Mussburger
- Literal Cliffhanger
- Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: Vic Tenetta bears a striking resemblance to Dean Martin.
- Lost Will And Testament: Hudsucker didn't leave one behind, which is why Mussburger developed the proxy plan in the first place. Turns out, the blue letter Norville was supposed to deliver to Mussburger was the will, giving the stock to whomever the board appointed the new CEO of the company, giving Neville one heck of an Unexpected Inheritance.
- Magical Negro
- Motif: Time, circles, and cycles.
- Motor Mouth: Amy occasionally, but most prominently the mail room orientation guy. Also, Buzz.
- Mundane Made Awesome: The entire process detailing the invention and production of the Hula Hoop. Detailed blueprints are produced and patented, the entire accounting department performs extensive research to come up with the retail price (of $1.79), a trio of guys run through countless names for the project, safety is practiced using explosives, and a fairly elaborate machine is used to make the things.
- Naïve Newcomer: Norville, fresh from business school, ends up in the mailroom but has big ideas.
- Newsreel: One provides exposition about the hula hoop craze - with narration by John Goodman.
- One of the Boys: Amy Archer, fast-talking career gal.
- Overly Long Gag: The laughing scene after Norville becomes president.
- Rhymes on a Dime: Hiya buddy, the name's Buzz, I got the fuzz, I make the elevator do what she does!
- Serious Business: A very literal example. The scene showing an ironic amount of Research and Development that went into designing... a circular piece of plastic. From blueprints with just a circle on them to an army of accountants to decide the MSRP.
- Shout Out: Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance is a direct reference to Rosalind Russell's role in His Girl Friday. Also, several references to Metropolis and 1984 particularly the more recent version.
- Smarter Than You Look
- Soft Glass: Used both straight and subverted.
- Springtime for Hitler
- Stealth Pun: The last line in the film.
Moses: And that's the story of how Norville Barnes climbed waaay up to the forty-fourth floor of the Hudsucker Building, 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!
- Time Stands Still: Time miraculously stops when a broomstick jams the gears of the clock tower, allowing Norville to survive the fall from the Hudsucker building ledge, have a chat with the angel of the late Mr. Hudsucker in mid-air, and learn that the company is all his according to the infamous Blue Letter...yet the snow never stops falling.
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