However thanks to real star turns from the A-list cast – and an absolutely priceless performance from Brad Pitt – Burn After Reading is definitely in danger of converting a few of the Oscar-winning duo's cynics.
It's an outlandish, comical caper which tracks the domino effect on a group of people, seemingly unconnected but actually intertwined, when a couple of hapless gym workers (Pitt and Frances McDormand) attempt to blackmail ex-CIA agent John Malkovich, when his disk of classified memoirs falls into their hands. Sounds simple? The results are anything but.
As we get swept along in the farcical plot, you can't help but feel this has been hugely indulgent on the Coens' part and a guilty pleasure to make, with its outrageous story and satirical stab at typical Hollywood 'spy' movies.
Most enjoyable perhaps is seeing Hollywood heart-throb Pitt transformed into a loveable, moronic imbecile with no ounce of wit. This is the Pitt we might like to see more of, and his brilliant delivery and his facial expressions are pure comic genius.
The same has to be said for George Clooney, playing against box office type and no stranger to the Coen makeover. Usually the suave hunk of any picture, here his federal agent character is a squirming whimp of a sex addict, trying to remain in control.
While fluctuating somewhere between a comedy and a satirical espionage thriller, it would be fair to say that Burn After Reading isn't meant to be taken too seriously. It's almost as if the Coen brothers have gone back to just having fun with filmmaking, adding a gaggle of major stars to a zany plot and sitting back and enjoying the result. And the likelihood is, you probably will too.