Know Your Coens: A serious quiz
The brothers Coen: Joel, left, and Ethan, right. We think.
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The Walker Art Center's massive Coen Brothers retrospective is now raging like Walter Sobchak on an anti-nihilist bender, giving local fans of the accomplished moviemaking duo an all-they-can-quote buffet of Coen-y goodness. With upcoming screenings of Burn After Reading, Raising Arizona, Big Lebowski, and The Hudsucker Proxy at the Walker—and the new, locally shot A Serious Man screening at the Uptown—The A.V. Club figures it's a good time for new and veteran Coenheads to test their mettle with a 20-question career-spanning quiz. See below, have at it, then scroll down past the A Serious Man trailer to check your answers.
1. Which of the Coen brothers is older—Joel or Ethan?
A. Joel
B. Ethan
C. trick question—they're twins
2. In which Minneapolis suburb did the Coen brothers attend high school?
A. Eden Prairie
B. Edina
C. Bloomington
D. St. Louis Park
3. Which Coen brother is married to Oscar-winner Frances McDormand?
A. Joel
B. Ethan
C. neither—McDormand doesn't believe in marriage
4. Which of these Coen films is not a remake or adaptation of preexisting work?
A. The Ladykillers
B. No Country For Old Men
C. Barton Fink
D. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
5. How many times does The Dude say "man" in The Big Lebowski?
A. 36
B. 70
C. 147
D. 312
6. Which of these actors has appeared in the most Coen Brothers movies?
A. George Clooney
B. Frances McDormand
C. John Turturro
D. John Goodman
7. Which of these lines is repeated seven times in Miller's Crossing?
A. "Jesus, Tom..."
B. "Whatever you say, boss."
C. "What's the rumpus?"
D. "I can't die out here in the woods!"
8. Who's the only main character in Raising Arizona that doesn’t cry?
A. Gale Snoats (played by John Goodman)
B. Ed McDunnough (played by Holly Hunter)
C. H. I. McDonnough (played by Nicolas Cage)
D. Nathan Arizona Jr. (played by T.J. Kuhn Jr.)
9. In this Coen brothers film, one or more characters get into trouble over of a large amount of money.
A. The Big Lebowski
B. Fargo
C. Burn After Reading
D. all of the above
10. The plot of this Coens movie also centers on a large sum of money.
A. Intolerable Cruelty
B. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
C. No Country For Old Men
D. all of the above—you see a pattern here?
11. Which driving inaccuracy would only a Minnesotan notice in Fargo?
A. Carl yells at the parking attendant in the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport over a $4 flat rate; the flat rate at the Lindbergh Terminal is actually $5.
B. The parking garage where Wade Gustafson gets shot after blowing Carl’s jaw off is actually in downtown St. Paul, not Minneapolis.
C. As Carl and Gaear are supposedly driving into Minneapolis from Fargo, the shot of the downtown skyline indicates that they're actually approaching from the south.
D. Every character in the film drives far too quickly, efficiently, and without passive aggression.
12. The plot mechanics of Barton Fink are based in part on the Coen brothers' real-life struggle with writer's block during the creation of which screenplay?
A. Blood Simple
B. Miller's Crossing
C. The Man Who Wasn't There
D. The Hudsucker Proxy
13. In The Big Lebowski, where does little Larry Sellers live?
A. In Burbank, on Radford, near the Carl's Jr.
B. In Studio City, on Radford, near the Jack In The Box
C. In West Hollywood, on Radford, near the Fatburger
D. In North Hollywood, on Radford, near the In-N-Out Burger
14. According to the Hogwallop family in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, how do you spell "abandoned her husband who must now take care of two children and a failing farm?" (For example: "Mrs. Hogwallop up and…")
A. R-U-N-N-O-F-T
B. S-K-I-D-O-O-D-L-E-D
C. S-K-E-E-D-A-D-D-L-E-D
D. G-I-T
15. Which of these is not suggested as a name for the Hula Hoop in The Hudsucker Proxy?
A. The Hoopsucker
B. The Hudswinger
C. The Silly Circle
D. The Wacky Circumference
16. Which of the Wayans brothers appeared in the Coen brothers' The Ladykillers?
A. Marlon Wayans
B. Damon Wayans
C. Shawn Wayans
D. Keenen Ivory Wayans
17. Which of these Coen brothers films earned the most Oscar nominations?
A. Fargo
B. Miller's Crossing
C. No Country For Old Men
D. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
18. Which of their favorite actors did the Coen brothers cast in their contribution to the short-film collection Paris, Je T'Aime?
A. Steve Buscemi
B. John Goodman
C. John Turturro
D. Jon Polito
19. The Coen brothers served as producers on which vehicle for The Man Who Wasn't There star Billy Bob Thornton?
A. Sling Blade
B. Monster's Ball
C. The Astronaut Farmer
D. Bad Santa
20. Which of the following were used as locations for the new A Serious Man?
A. Normandale Community College in Bloomington
B. Keys Café and Bakery in Roseville
C. The Van Dusen Mansion on LaSalle Avenue in Minneapolis
D. all of the above
ANSWERS
1. A
2. D
3. A
4. C
5. C
6. B
7. A
8. D
9. D
10. D
11. C
12. B
13. D
14. A
15. C
16. A
17. C
18. A
19. D
20. D
