In the early nineties, America briefly remembered the late director Frank Capra. The year 1993 brought us Ivan Reitman’s Dave, which was something of a re-imagining of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; then a year later the Coen Brothers brought us The Hudsucker Proxy, which is more-or-less a re-imagining of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. After those two, it pretty much ended, apparently because no one could think of another Capra film to rip off (except for maybe It’s a Wonderful Life, which, thanks to the TV royalties and the burgeoning VHS market, was still profitable, anyway).

Of course, I’m being somewhat facetious here, but the reason I mention Dave is because it provides a fairly good point of reference for understanding Hudsucker—and the reasons it failed commercially. The Hudsucker Proxy illustrates the Coens’ absolute refusal to do anything mainstream—even when explicitly referencing the mainstream. Capra’s work—and this in no way diminishes it—was thoroughly commercial. Great artist though he was, he arguably had more in common with the “another-day-another-dollar” approach of Reitman (whose work has been incredibly uneven—Ghostbusters, sure, but Evolution? who green-lighted that?) than with the self-consciously indie Coens. Hudsucker was their first bid for mainstream success, but their idiosyncrasies got the best of them, audiences didn’t “get it,” and the movie tanked at the box office.

That said, how you’ll feel about Hudsucker likely depends on how you feel about its source material. While its cousin Dave was content to vaguely emulate the spirit of Capra, while presenting its story fairly straightforwardly—and parading the celebrities out whenever things started to slow down—Hudsucker proves once and for all that the Coens are too film-literate for their own good (and you might have to be as well, to enjoy it fully). The dialogue and comic timing is that of writers who have watched a dozen too many Howard Hawks films; the visuals are straight out of the German Expressionism of Frtiz Lang’s Metropolis.

The plot, however, is pure Capra: Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins), a young college grad, arrives in New York City with dreams of big business success. Unfortunately, all the good jobs require experience, which is something he doesn’t have. He takes a menial position in the mailroom for Hudsucker Industries, one of the biggest powerhouses on Wall Street. About half an hour later, Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning), the company founder and CEO, commits suicide, jumping from the top floor of the skyscraper. The board of directors, desiring to drive stock prices down so they can seize control of the company, begin looking for a pigeon to take his place. Norville, with his head full of ambition and ideas, gladly accepts the new job offer.

If you’ve ever seen a movie, you’ve probably guessed already that Norville shocks the world with a crazy new idea (which in this case turns out to be the hula hoop—I’m not spoiling anything, it’s right on the poster) that makes the company wealthier than it’s ever been before. Watching it happen, however, is very entertaining, especially when Jennifer Jason Leigh shows up as an undercover reporter who’s determined to undermine Norville (but becomes strangely attracted to him). Their repartee is of the unbelievably-fast-and-witty variety—essentially His Girl Friday taken to the Nth degree. It’s never clear exactly whether they’re parodying Hawks or paying homage to him—it wouldn’t be the Coens without a hefty dose of ambiguity—but this is easily the best part of the film. Leigh’s sympathetic machine-gun persona alone makes the whole film worth watching.

As usual, the Coens seem much less concerned with their characters than with pulling all kinds of visual tricks and piling on the film buff cred, but with a film like this—which is much more a parody than a serious attempt at narrative—this seems more-or-less appropriate. The towering skyscrapers contrast well with the dingy streets down below, and they sprinkle subtle visual humor throughout. As usual, they choose to end with a good amount of deus ex machina, but somehow this just adds to the fun. Hudsucker, like all Coen brothers comedies, is really just a couple hours of silliness (and the actors all seem to be enjoying it). If you’re willing to accept this, it’s an excellent time.