A Modern Day Screwball (From Oxford Mail)

A Modern Day Screwball

10:04am Friday 24th April 2009

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THE HUDSUCKER PROXY (Cert.PG) 1994: Starring Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Paul Newman Wednesday, May 13 at 9.00pm Plot: Norville Barnes (Robbins), a business college graduate from Muncie, Indiana arrives in late-1958 New York City looking for a job. He struggles, due to lack of experience, and becomes a mailroom clerk at Hudsucker Industries.

However, when the company founder and president unexpectedly commits suicide, Norville finds himself suddenly promoted to President of the company by devious member of the board, Sidney J. Mussburger (Newman), who hopes to temporarily depress the price of the company’s stocks by installing someone he considers ‘an idiot’.

But Norville is ambitious and soon proposes his first invention - a hoop, or rather a ‘hula hoop’, which of course makes a fortune and completely undoes Mussburger’s plans.

Now, throw in a flexi-straw and a frisbee, and you have the film’s main characters.

Warm, funny and a throwback to the screwball comedies of the 1930s (Jennifer Jason Leigh is a classic Kate Hepburn hybrid), it remains a charmer.