Here come those wacky Coen brothers again.  BURN AFTER READING is a comedy spy thriller, with a plot that twists while its characters race to keep up.  In the inimitable Coen style, the film’s subplots dance around each other until they come together in a wacky, unpredictable intersection at the end of the film.  With an all-star cast, witty dialog and an intriguing storyline, Joel and Ethan Coen have all the ingredients for a delicious movie, but what we see onscreen, unfortunately, is uneven, lumpy and needs some spice. The movie is set in Washington, DC.  Linda (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt) work at a gym, and find a CD on gym floor that appears to contain secret documents and code.  The documents are actually the financial records of a washed-up, vodka-soaked, recently-fired CIA agent, Osborne Cox (John Malkovich), compiled by his cool and imperious wife Katie (Tilda Swinton) in preparation for a divorce.  Harry (George Clooney) is a former US Marshal with ties to several of the characters.  As Linda and Chad try to leverage their find, they find themselves in the middle of an espionage caper that’s way beyond their abilities to comprehend.  Hijinks ensue.

Trust me, there are a few laugh-out-loud scenes in this movie.  But they’re like raisins in vanilla pudding: tasty gems surrounded by bland, boring stuff.  The Coens reportedly wrote the film with the actors in mind.  Except for Malkovich and Swinton, all of the headliners have appeared in other Coen films.  But a custom-written script doesn’t mean that the actors can function without direction.  Although McDormand is at her charming, low-key, earnest best, Clooney and Pitt have dialed-in their performances, choosing to overplay rather than emote.  Malkovich fares better, giving us an Osborne who is depressed, over-educated, and desperate to be relevant.  His life is collapsing around him, but his faith in his intellect coupled with a few drinks too many carries him through.

The supporting cast is much better.  Richard Jenkins is the gym manager Ted, lovelorn and long-suffering, who finally takes an assertive step to make Linda notice him.  J. K. Simmons gets the biggest laughs in the film as an unnamed CIA bigwig.  And Olek Krupa is great as a vaguely menacing Russian “cultural liaison” at the Russian Embassy.  Another bright spot in the film is the dialog.  It’s quick, clever and witty.  The Coens are great writers, and it shows.  Interestingly, they wrote this script while they were writing NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, their bleak, ultra-violent masterpiece, alternating by the day.

There are a few more subtle amusing moments throughout the film as well.  A large portrait of Vladimir Putin brings a good laugh.  A running gag about actor Dermot Mulroney is funny, as well.  Each major character has a repeated line that becomes a comic anthem as the movie progresses.

The humor in BURN AFTER READING revolves around “intelligence.”  The spy caper is a clumsy, fumbling disaster based on meaningless intelligence perpetrated by unintelligent people.  It’s a comedy of errors, replete with silly clichés that work well in this context: ominous black sedans following characters down the road and parked on street corners, closets as hiding-places, park benches as meeting-places.  McDormand’s sub-plot is also very well done, and very funny.  As Linda Litzke, she is a single woman looking for love.  She wants to reinvent herself with several plastic surgeries, in hopes of holding on to her fleeting youth.  As she searches internet dating sites for the right man, gamely dating those who seem appropriate, she depends on a positive attitude and demands the same from others.  Her approach to life is simple and straightforward, and her dogged, pleasant persistence serves her well as the situation deteriorates around her.

The problem with BURN AFTER READING is simply its unevenness.  With all this talent in one place, both in front of and behind the camera, it’s almost amazing that the film does not gel into what it should have and could have been.  The few truly funny moments are not enough to carry the rest of the film, which has an oddly unemotional feel.  As Coen brothers’ comedies go, it’s not a rollicker like RAISING ARIZONA, it’s not a sex farce like INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, it’s not a black comedy like FARGO, and it’s not an absurdist satire like THE BIG LEBOWSKI.  BURN AFTER READING borrows from each genre, but it does not stand well on its own as a caper-comedy film.

A few words of caution:  Profanity pervades this film.  If constant blue language bothers you, wait for the television version, which will have to be heavily overdubbed.  There’s up-close-and-personal violence in the film.  And there’s plenty of sex and sexual references as well.  This isn’t a film for the kids.  If you’re a big Coen brothers fan, catch BURN AFTER READING in the theater.  Otherwise, wait for the DVD or on-demand release.