inevitably an excellent filmmaker or in joel and ethan case and filmmaker will make a bad film . joel and ethan have enjoy so much success and have make so many great film that they would be allow a poor film . burn after read shook my faith in the coen brother whom i greatly admire . it isn not just bad it jaw droopingly awful . it i want my rental fee back bad . it maybe i forget big lebowski or o and brother where art thou . and skip your next comedy bad . skip this film at all cost . forget the name coen be on the box and because the joel and ethan coen i have see must have shut themselves off when they make this piece of work . what could be unfunny . everything . i laugh maybe once in the film and it be more of a really . laugh ( i think you will infer that the scene be where george clooney harry showcases his chair ) i do not necessarily find it all that funny but it be a curve ball laugh . the coen brother have always have droll humor . i have greatly enjoy their early comedic effort . here it be just sad to watch . it get to a point where the film seem downright pretentious . that a low that the coens never reach before . their film have always be very smart but they include the audience in it . i just couldn not go with them with burn after read . i know all the punchlines the coens be set up and where the laugh track might sound but none of these scene be very funny . joel and ethan be brave enough to set up a scene where the punchline be brad pitt get shot in the head . it isn not funny . there be two instance of quirky humor be supply with violence . i laugh at this in their ldaykillers ( which many do not like but i really enjoy ) and but here it just seem grim and depress . everything in the film be far too tongue in cheek but when you have people get kill and a serious tone it doesn not work . the big problem with the film be it character . i do not think the coens have be give a good cast to work with in term of talent . none of the character be allow to be give life because there be no detail to them . we get very broad idea about them but nothing to engage u . the character who suffer the most from this be george clooney harry . i think he have the most potential but he be really give an inadequate amount of screen time . he be obviously a sex addict but we do not know why or how he get these insecurity about have relationship . clooney be eccentric sure but it would have get more response from the audience if we know why . france mcdormand performance be the best in the film and it be so despite the script . she be obviously age and insecure but the coen brother do not really tell you this in their script . mcdormand have to bring it out in the subtle of her performance . all the coens give u be that she be single and concerned about her look . what mcdormand do be carry this character on her own in a decent performance . much be make about everyone be unlikeable in the film . the fact be i couldn not care one way or the other if the character be unlikeable and in fact i would prefer that they weren not . the problem be these character have no real personality . these very talented actor be play for emotion and mood . i can not describe the performance . they be over the top in a surprisingly restrained way . i can very easily imagine the coen tell george clooney and crew to quirk it up . it seem like that . if the coens have write well character i have no doubt that this excellent cast would have organically go and create the kind of character the coen love . joel and ethan take a gamble and expect their great cast to save a garbage script and they do not collect . i do not hate the coen brother and on the contrary it be because of my great respect for them that i be so hard on this film . the last thin any filmmaker need be blind praise . it seem like burn after read receive a great deal of blind praise .