The Hudsucker Proxy is my second favorite Coen brothers movie on rewatchability.1 Within their oeuvre, The Hudsucker Proxy is closest to capturing the humor in American manufacturing/business culture (exceeded only by William H. Macy’s exasperated car salesman role in Fargo).
While talking about Dynamic pricing in class, I typically refer to the funny story in Hudsucker Proxy, which has a retailer (ostensibly, all retailers) adjusting the price of HulaHoops in the light of the increased demand. Here is the embedded video from the movie that shows the design of the product, progression into the production process, and testing, leading to its retail sales — the lifecycle of hope, demise, and rebirth of a product.
The movie also features Jennifer Jason Leigh, whose acting chops in pulling off an extraordinarily difficult comic role, made me a lifelong fan of her talent. In my books, Leigh’s role belongs in the same echelon as Katherine Hepburn’s Bringing up Baby and Greta Garbo’s Ninotchka. It is an under-rated precursor to now well-known comedic performances (Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and others).
- The Big Lebowski will always be Numero Uno.
Post updated for Clarity.