Nearly as funny to me as the Coen's "The Big Lebowski", this ranks in my Top 5 Coen Brothers films.

"O Brother..." is hilarious. George Clooney's rapid fire delivery as Everett is one of my favorite comedic performances. Setting aside that he's a "Dapper Dan Man", his endless expounding about anything and everything is the very best part of the film. You can see him trying to hold back a smile during his theorizing. It fits Everett's personality that he would be grinning, but I'll bet Clooney caused a lot of re-shoots. If he didn't have fun making this film, I'd be shocked.

A close second is the performance of Tim Blake Nelson as Delmar. He's big-hearted and not so dumb as Everett claims. Delmar is the glue that holds the trio together and quickly establishes relationships with the quirky and possibly insane characters they encounter during their escapes from the law.

This is much more a combo of set pieces than it is a cohesively told story. The "Soggy Bottom Boys" encounters with nasty fellers like Big Dan Teague (John Goodman) and Baby Face Nelson (Michael Badalucco) are hit and miss, while the baptism scene and the first burning barn escape are pure gold. But the inclusion of Everett's wife Penny (Holly Hunter) feels unnecessary. It diminishes Everett's character to me, although it does help explain that he's a magnetic personality but a very questionable decision maker.

Overall, I'd describe "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" as a dusty, dirty Southern fantasy. It's a film I can watch anytime.